University  Library 
University  of  California  -  Berkeley 


77/£ 


Great  Apostasy 


Considered  in  the  Light  of  Scriptural 
and  Secular  History 


By 

DR.  JAMES  E.   TALMAGE 

D.  Sc.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  E. 


THE 

GREAT  APOSTASY 


CONSIDERED  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF 

SCRIPTURAL  AND  SECULAR 

HISTORY 


By  JAMES  E.  fALMAGE 

D.  Sc.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  E. 


Press  of  Zion's  Printing  and  Publishing  Company 
Independence,  Jackson  County,  Mo.,  U.  S.  A. 


Published  by  the  Missions  of  the  Church  of  Jesua  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints 
in  America 

BUREAU  OF  INFORMATION— Temple  Block,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 
CALIFORNIA  MISSION— 153  W.  Adams  St.,  Los  Angeles,  Calif. 
CANADIAN  MISSION— 36  Ferndale  Avenue,  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada. 
CENTRAL  STATES  MISSION— 302  S.  Pleasant  St.,  Independence,  Mo. 
EASTERN  STATES  MISSION— 273  Gates  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
HAWAIIAN  MISSION— P.  O.  Box  3228,  Honolulu,  Hawaii. 
MEXICAN  MISSION— 3531  Fort  Blvd.,  El  Paso,  Texas,  U.  S.  A. 
NORTHERN  STATES  MISSION— 2555  N.  Sawyer  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 
NORTHCENTRAL  STATES  MISSION— 3044  Elliot,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
NORTHWESTERN  STATES  MISSION— 264  E.  25th  St.,  Portland,  Ore. 
SOUTHERN  STATES  MISSION— 371  E.  North  Ave.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 
WESTERN  STATES  MISSION— 538  East  7th  Ave.,  Denver,  Colo. 


(  CD  0^0  -To  F 

Tn 


PREFACE. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  proclaims  the  restoration 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  Church  as  of  old,  in  this,  the 
Dispensation  of  the  Fulness  of  Times.  Such  restoration  and  re-establishment, 
with  the  modern  bestowal  of  the  Holy  Priesthood,  would  be  unnecessary  and 
indeed  impossible  had  the  Church  of  Christ  continued  among  men  with  un- 
broken succession  of  Priesthood  and  power,  since  the  "meridian  of  time." 

The  restored  Church  affirms  that  a  general  apostasy  developed  during 
and  after  the  apostolic  period,  and  that  the  primitive  Church  lost  its  power, 
authority,  and  graces  as  a  divine  institution,  and  degenerated  into  an  earthly 
organization  only.  The  significance  and  importance  of  the  great  apostasy, 
as  a  condition  precedent  to  the  re-establishment  of  the  Church  in  modern 
times,  is  obvious.  If  the  alleged  apostasy  of  the  primitive  Church  was  not  a 
reality,  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  is  not  the  divine  in- 
stitution its  name  proclaims. 

The  evidence  of  the  decline  and  final  extinction  of  the  primitive  Church 
among  men  is  found  in  scriptural  record  and  in  secular  history.  In  the  follow- 
ing pages  the  author  has  undertaken  to  present  a  summary  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  evidences.  In  so  doing  he  has  drawn  liberally  from  many 
sources  of  information,  with  due  acknowledgment  of  all  citations.  This  little 
work  has  been  written  in  the  hope  that  it  may  prove  of  service  to  our  mission- 
ary elders  in  the  field,  to  classes  and  quorum  organizations  engaged  in  the  study 
of  theological  subjects  at  home,  and  to  earnest  investigators  of  the  teachings 
and  claims  of  the  restored  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  JAMES  E.  TALMAGE. 

November  1,  1909. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    SECOND    EDITION. 


The  first  edition  of  "The  Great  Apostasy"  was  issued  by  the  Deseret 
News,  Salt  Lake  City,  in  November,  1909,  and  comprised  ten  thousand  copies. 
The  author  has  learned,  with  a  pleasure  that  is  perhaps  pardonable,  of  the 
favorable  reception  accorded  the  little  work  by  the  missionary  elders  of  the 
Church,  and  by  the  people  among  whom  these  devoted  servants  are  called  to 
labor.  The  present  issue  of  twenty  thousand  copies  constitutes  the  second 
edition,  and  is  published  primarily  for  use  in  the  missionary  field.  The  text 
of  the  second  edition  is  practically  identical  with  that  of  the  first. 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  JAMES  E.  TALMAGE. 

February,   1910. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I.     . 

Introduction-.    The  Establishment  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Conditions  at  beginning  of  Christian  era. — Religious  systems,  Jewish,  Pagan, 
and  Samaritan. — Jewish  sects  and  parties. — Law  of  Moses  fulfilled  and 
superseded. — Apostles  chosen  and  ordained. — Apostolic  administration. — 
The  Church  established  on  the  western  hemisphere. — The  "meridian  of 
time." ...7 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Apostasy  Predicted. 

The  Church  has  not  continued  in  unbroken  succession. — Divine  fore-knowl- 
edge.— The  divine  purposes  not  thwarted. — Apostasy  from  the  Church 
compared  with  the  apostasy  of  the  Church. — Specific  predictions  con- 
cerning the  apostasy. — The  Law  of  Moses  a  temporary  measure. — Isaiah's 
fateful  prophecy. — Predictions  by  Jesus  Christ. — By  Paul. — By  Peter. — 
By  Jude. — By  John  the  Revelator. — Apostasy  on  the  western  hemi- 
sphere predicted 18 

CHAPTER  III. 

Early  Stages  of  the  Apostasy. 

The  apostasy  recognized  in  apostolic  age. — Testimony  of  Paul. — "Mystery 
or  iniquity." — Summary  of  Paul's  utterances  concerning  early  apostasy. — 
Testimony  of  Jude. — Of  John  the  Revelator. — Messages  to  the  churches 
of  Asia. — Nicolaitanes  denounced. — Testimonies  of  Hegesippus. — Early 
schisms  in  the  Church. — Declension  of  the  Church  before  close  of  first 
century. — Apostasy  on  the  western  hemisphere. — Destruction  of  Nephite 
nation  by  the  Lamanites 33 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Causes  of  the  Apostasy. — External  Causes  Considered. 

Causes  of  the  apostasy,  external  and  internal. — Persecution  as  an  external 
cause. — Judaism  and  Paganism  arrayed  against  the  Church. — Judaistic 
persecution. — Predictions  of  Judaistic  opposition. — Fulfillment  of  the 
same. — Destruction  of  Jerusalem - 43 


CONTENTS 
• 

CHAPTER  V. 

Causes  of  the  Apostasy. — External  Causes,  Continued. 

Pagan  persecution. — Roman  opposition  to  Christianity,  explanation  of. — 
Number  of  persecutions  by  the  Romans. — Persecution  under  Nero. — 
Under  Domitian. — Under  Trajan. — Under  Marcus  Aurelius. — Later 
persecutions. — Persecutions  under  Diocletian. — Extent  of  the  Diocle- 
tian persecution. — Diocletian  boast  that  Christianity  was  extinct. — The 
Church  taken  under  state  protection  by  Constantine  the  Great 50 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Causes  of  the  Apostasy. — Internal  Causes. 

Diverse  effect  of  persecution. — Imprudent  zeal  of  some. — Return  to  idolatry 
by  others. — "Libels"  attesting  individual  apostasy. — Sad  condition  of 
the  Church  in  third  century. — Testimony  as  to  conditions  of  apostasy 
at  this  period. — Decline  of  the  Church  antedates  the  conversion  of  Con- 
stantine.— Departure  from  Christianity. — Specific  causes  of  the  growing 
apostasy 63 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Internal    Causes. — Continued. 

First  specific  cause:  "The  corrupting  of  the  simple  principles  of  the  gospel 
by  the  admixture  of  the  so-called  philosophic  systems  of  the  times." — 
Judaistic  perversions. — Admixture  of  Gnosticism  with  Christianity. — 
Gnosticism  unsatisfying. — New  platonics. — Doctrine  of  the  Logos. — 
"The  World." — Sibellianism. — Arianism. — The  Council  of  Nice  and  its 
denunciation  of  Arianism. — The  Nicene  Creed. — The  Creed  of  Athanasius. 
— Perverted  view  of  life. — Disregard  for  truth 73 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Internal  Causes. — Continued. 

Second  specific  cause:  "Unauthorized  additions  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church, 
and  the  introduction  of  vital  changes  in  essential  ordinances."— Simpli- 
city of  early  form  of  worship  ridiculed. — Formalism  and  superstition  in- 
crease.— Adoration  of  images,  etc. — Changes  in  baptismal  ordinance. — 
Time  of  its  administration  restricted. — Ministrations  of  the  exorcist  in- 
troduced.— Immersion  substituted  by  sprinkling. — Infant  baptism  in- 
troduced.— Changes  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. — Fallacy  of 
transubstantiation. — Adoration  of  the  "host." — Proof  of  apostate  con- 
dition of  the  Church 84 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Internal  Causes. — Continued. 

Third  specific  cause:  "Unauthorized  changes  in  church  organization  and 
government." — Early  form  of  church  government. — Equality  of  the  bish- 
ops.— Origin  of  synods  or  church  councils. — Bishops  of  Rome  claimed 
supremacy. — Title  of  Pope  assumed. — Secular  authority  asserted  by  the 
Pope. — Indulgences  or  pardons. — Infamous  doctrine  of  supererogation. — 
The  traffic  in  indulgences. — Tetzel  the  papal  agent. — Copy  of  an  indul- 
gence.— The  .sin  of  blasphemy. — Scripture-reading  forbidden  to  the 
people. — Draper's  arraignment  of  the  papacy 96 


CHAPTER  X. 

Results  of  the  Apostasy. — Its  Sequel. 

Revolts  against  the  Church  of  Rome. — John  Wickliffe  in  England. — John 
Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague. — The  Reformation  inaugurated.  — Martin 
Luther,  his  revolt;  his  excommunication;  his  defense  at  Worms. — The 
Protestants. — Zwingle  and  Calvin. — The  Inquisition. — Zeal  of  the  re- 
formers.— Rise  of  the  Church  of  England. — Divine  over-ruling  in  the  events 
of  the  Reformation. — The  "Mother  Church"  apostate. — Fallacy  of 
assuming  human  origin  of  divine  authority. — Priestly  orders  of  Church 
of  England  declared  invalid  by  "Mother  Church." — The  apostasy  ad- 
mitted and  affirmed.— Wesley's  testimony. — Declaration  by  Church  of 
England. — Divine  declaration  of  the  apostasy. — The  sequel. — The  Reve- 
lator's  vision  of  the  Restoration. — The  Church  re-established  in  the 
nineteenth  century 110 


COPYRIGHT 

by 

JAMES  E.   TALMAGE. 
1909. 


The  Great  Apostasy 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introduction:  The  Establishment  of  the  Church 
of  Christ. 

1.  A  belief  common  to  all  sects  and  churches  professing 
Christianity  is  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  Savior  and  Redeemer  of 
the  human  race,  established  His  Church  upon  the  earth  by 
personal  ministration  in  the  meridian  of  time.     Ecclesiastical 
history,  as  distinguished  from  secular  history,  deals  with  the 
experiences  of  the  Church  from  the  time  of  its  establishment. 
The  conditions  under  which  the   Church  was  founded  first 
claim  our  attention. 

2.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Jews,  in 
common  with  most  other  nations,  were  subjects  of  the  Roman 
empire. —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.)     They  were  allowed  a 
considerable  degree  of  liberty  in  maintaining  their  religious 
observances  and  national  customs  generally,  but  their  status 
was  far  from  that  of  a  free  and  independent  people. 

3.  The   period  was   one  of   comparative   peace, — a  time 
marked  by  fewer  wars  and  less  dissension  than  the  empire  had 
known  for  many  years.     These  conditions  were  favorable  for 
the  mission  of  the  Christ,  and  for  the  founding  of  His  Church 
on   earth. 

4.  The  religious  systems  extant  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
earthly  ministry  may  be  classified  in  a  general  way  as  Jewish  and 
Pagan,  with  a  minor  system — the  Samaritan — which  was  es- 
sentially a  mixture  of  the  other  two.     The  children  of  Israel 
alone  proclaimed  the  existence  of  the  true  and  living  God;  they 
alone  looked  forward  to  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  whom  mis- 
takenly they  awaited  as  a  prospective  conqueror  coming  to 
crush  the  enemies  of  their  nation.    All  other  nations,  tongues, 
and  peoples  bowed  to  pagan  deities,  and  their  worship  com- 
prised naught  but  the  sensual  rites  of  heathen  idolatry.    Pagan- 
ism—  (See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter.)  was  a  religion  of  form  and 
ceremony,  based  on  polytheism — a  belief  in  the  existence  of  a 


8  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

multitude  of  gods,  which  deities  were  subject  to  all  the  vices 
and  passions  of  humanity,  while  distinguished  by  immunity 
from  death.  Morality  and  virtue  were  unknown  as  elements  of 
heathen  service;  and  the  dominant  idea  in  pagan  worship  was 
that  of  propitiating  the  gods,  in  the  hope  of  averting  their  anger 
and  purchasing  their  favor. 

5.  The  Israelites,  or  Jews,  as  they  were  collectively  known, 
thus  stood  apart  among  the  nations  as  proud  possessors  of 
superior  knowledge,  with  a  lineage  and  a  literature,  with  a 
priestly  organization  and  a  system  of  laws,  that  separated 
and  distinguished  them  as  a  people  at  once  peculiar  and  ex- 
clusive.    While  the  Jews  regarded  their  idolatrous  neighbors 
with  abhorrence  and  contempt,  they  in  turn  were  treated  with 
derision  as  fanatics  and  inferiors. 

6.  But  the  Jews,  while  thus  distinguished  as  a  people  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  were  by  no  means  a  united  people;  on  the 
contrary,  they  were  divided  among  themselves  on  matters  of 
religious  profession  and  practice.    In  the  first  place,  there  was 
a  deadly  enmity  between  the  Jews  proper  and  the  Samaritans. 
These  latter  were  a  mixed  people  inhabiting  a  distinct  province 
mostly  between  Judea  and  Galilee,  largely  made  up  of  Assyrian 
colonists  who  had  intermarried  with  the  Jews.    While  affirming 
their  belief  in  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  they  practiced 
many  rites  belonging  to  the  paganism  they  claimed  to  have  for- 
saken, and  were  regarded  by  the  Jews  proper  as  unorthodox 
and  reprobate. 

7.  Then  the  Jews  themselves  were  divided  into  many  con- 
tending sects  and  parties,  among  which  the  principal  were  the 
Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees;  and  beside  these  we  read  of 
Essenes,  Galileans,  Herodians,  etc. 

8.  The  Jews  were  living  under  the  Law  of  Moses,  the  out- 
ward observance  of  which  was  enforced  by  priestly  rule,  while 
the  spirit  of  the  law  was  very  generally  ignored  by  priest  and 
people  alike.    That  the  Mosaic  law  was  given  as  a  preparation 
for  something  greater  was  afterward  affirmed  by  Paul,  in  his 
epistle  to  the  saints  at  Galatia:  "Wherefore  the  law  was  our 
schoolmaster   to   bring   us   unto   Christ." — (Galatians   3:24.) 
And  the  fact  that  a  higher  law  was  to  supersede  the  lower  is 
abundantly  shown  in  the  Savior's  own  teachings:  "Ye  have 
heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  kill; 


THE  CHURCH  ESTABLISHED.  9 

and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment: 
But  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother 
without  a  cause  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment:  *  *  *  Ye 
have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery:  But  I  say  unto  you  that  whosoever  looketh  on 
a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery  with  her 
already  in  his  heart.  *  *  *  Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath 
been  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself 
but  shall  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths:  But  I  say  unto  you, 
swear  not  at  all.  *  *  *  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth:  But  I  say  unto  you, 
that  ye  resist  not  evil.  *  *  *  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been 
said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy.  But 
I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you, 
do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  de- 
spitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you." — (Matthew  5:21-44; 
read  the  entire  chapter.) 

9.  These  teachings,  based  on  love,  so  different  from  the 
spirit  of  retaliation  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  under 
the  law,  caused  g.reat  surprise  among  the  people ;  yet  in  affirma- 
tion of  the  fact  that  the  law  was  not  to  be  ignored,  and  could 
only  be  superseded  by  its  fulfillment,  the  Master  said:  "Think 
not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets:  I  am 
not  come  to  destroy  but  to  fulfill.    For  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise 
pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled.— (Matt.  5:17,  18.) 

10.  It  is  very  evident  the  Master  had  come  with  a  greater 
doctrine  than  was  then  known,  and  that  the  teachings  of  the  day 
were  insufficient.    "For  I  say  unto  you,  that  except  your  right- 
eousness shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."— 
(Verse   20.) 

11.  Jesus  Himself  was  strict  in  complying  with  all  rightful 
requirements  under  the  law;  but  He  refused  to  recognize  an  ob- 
servance of  the  letter  alone,  however  rigidly  required,  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  compliance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Mosaic  injunction. 

12.  The  excellent  teachings  and  precepts  of  true  morality 
inculcated  by  the  Christ  prepared  the  minds  of  those  who  be- 
lieved His  words  for  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  in  its  purity, 


10  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

and  for  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of  Christ  as  an  earthly 
organization. 

13.  From  among  the  disciples  who  followed  Him,  some  of 
whom  had  been  honored  by  preliminary  calls,  He  chose  twelve 
men,  whom  He  ordained  to  the  apostleship: — "And  He  ordained 
twelve,  that  they  should  be  with  Him,  and  that  He  might  send 
them  forth  to  preach." — (Mark  3:14.)     Again:  "And  when  it 
was  day,  he  called  unto  him  his  disciples:  and  of  them  he  chose 
twelve  .whom  also  he  named  apostles." — (Luke  6:13;  compare 
Matt.  10:1,  2.)     The  twelve  special  witnesses  of  Him  and  His 
work  were  sent  out  to  preach  in  the  several  cities  of  the  Jews. 
On  this,  their  first  mission,  they  were  instructed  to  confine  their 
ministrations  to  the  house  of  Israel,  and  the  burden  of  their 
message  was  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." — (Matt. 
10:7;  study  the  entire  chapter.)     They  were  told  to  use  the 
power  with  which  they  had  been  invested  by  ordination,  in 
preaching,  in  healing  the  sick,  in  raising  the  dead  even,  and  in 
subduing  evil  spirits;  the  Master's  admonition  was,  "Freely  ye 
have  received,  freely  give."    They  were  to  travel  without  money 
or  provisions,  relying  upon  a  higher  power  to  supply  their  needs 
through  the  agency  of  those  to  whom  they  would  offer  the  mes- 
sage of  truth;  and  they  were  warned  of  the  possible  hardships 
awaiting  them  and  of  the  persecution  which  sooner  or  later 
would  surely  befall  them. 

14.  At  a  later  date  Christ  called  others  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  and  sent  them  out  in  pairs  to  precede  Him  and  pre- 
pare the  people  for  His  coming.    Thus  we  read  of  "the  seventy" 
who  were  instructed  in  terms  almost  identical  with  those  of  the 
apostolic  commission. —  (Luke  10;  compare  with  Matt.   10.) 
That  their  investiture  was  one  of  authority  and  power  and  no 
mere  form  is  shown  by  the  success  attending  their  administra- 
tions; for,  when  they  returned  they  reported  triumphantly, 
"Lord,  even  the  devils  are  subject  to  us  through  thy  name." 
—  (Luke  10:17.) 

15.  The  specific  commission  given  unto  the  apostles  at  the 
time  of  their  ordination  was  afterward  emphasized.    They  were 
the  subjects  of  the  particularly  solemn  ordinance  spoken  of  as 
the  washing  of  feet,  so  necessary  that  in  reply  to  Peter's  objec- 
tion the  Lord  said:  "If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with 
me." — (John  13:4-9.)    And  unto  the  eleven  who  had  remained 


THE  CHURCH  ESTABLISHED.  11 

faithful,  the  Risen  Lord  delivered  His  parting  instructions, 
immediately  before  the  ascension:  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  After  our  Lord's 
departure  the  apostles  entered  upon  the  ministry  with  vigor: 
"And  they  went  forth,  and  preached  every  where,  the  Lord 
working  with  them,  and  confirming  the  word  with  signs  follow- 
ing."—(Mark  16:14-20;  compare  Matt.  28:19,  20.) 

16.  These  scriptures  indicate  the  authority  of  the  apostles 
to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  Church  after  the  ascension  of 
the  Resurrected  Messiah.    That  Peter,  the  senior  member  of  the 
apostolic  council,  was  given  a  position  of  presidency,  appears 
from  the  Savior's  special  admonition  and  charge  on  the  shores 
of  the  Tiberian  sea."— (John  21:15-17.) 

17.  That  the  apostles  realized  that  though  the  Master  had 
gone  He  had  left  with  them  authority  and  command  to  build  up 
the  Church  as  an  established  organization,  is  abundantly  proved 
by  scripture.    They  first  proceeded  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  pre- 
siding council  or  "quorum"  of  twelve,  a  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  apostasy  and  death  of  Judas  Iscariot;  and  the  mode  of  pro- 
cedure in  this  official  act  is  instructive.     The  installation  of  a 
new  apostle  was  not  determined  by  the  eleven  alone;  we  read 
that  the  disciples  (or  members  of  the  Church)  were  gathered 
together — about  a  hundred  and  twenty  in  number.     To  them 
Peter  presented  the  matter  requiring  action,  and  emphasized 
the  fact  that  the  man  to  be  chosen  must  be  one  who  had  personal 
knowledge  and  testimony  of  the  Lord's  ministry,  and  who  was 
therefore  qualified  to  speak  as  a  special  witness  of  the  Christ, 
which  qualification  is  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  apostle- 
ship.    "Wherefore,"  said  Peter,  "of  these  men  which  have  com- 
panied  with  us  all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out 
among  us,  beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same 
day  that  he  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be  ordained  to  be 
a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection."— (Acts  1:21,  22;  read 
verses  15-26  inclusive.)    We  are  further  informed  that  two  men 
were  nominated,  and  that  the  divine  power  was  invoked  to 
show  whether  either,  and  if  so,  which,  was  the  Lord's  choice. 
Then  the  votes  were  cast  "and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias;  and 
he  was  numbered  with  the  eleven  apostles." 

18.  It  is  evident  that  the  apostles  considered  their  council  or 
quorum  as  definitely  organizedwith  a  membership  limit  of  twelve; 


12  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

and  that  the  work  of  the  Church  required  that  the  organization 
be  made  complete.  Nevertheless,  we  read  of  none  others  sub- 
sequently chosen  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  council  of  twelve.  Paul, 
who  previous  to  his  conversion  was  known  as  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
received  a  special  manifestation,  in  which  he  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Risen  Lord  declaring  "I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest," 
—  (Acts  9:5;  read  verses  1-22)  and  thereby  he  became  a  special 
witness  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  as  such  was  in  truth  an  apostle, 
though  we  have  no  definite  scriptural  record  that  he  was  ever 
made  a  member  of  the  council  of  twelve.  As  showing  the  im- 
portance of  ordination  to  office  under  the  hands  of  duly  consti- 
tuted authorities,  we  have  the  instance  of  Paul's  ordination. 
Though  he  had  conversed  with  the  Resurrected  Jesus,  though 
he  had  been  the  subject  of  a  special  manifestation  of  divine 
power  in  the  restoration  of  his  sight,  he  had  nevertheless  to  be 
baptized;  and  later  he  was  commissioned  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry  by  the  authoritative  imposition  of  hands.- (Acts  13:1-3.) 

19.  Another  instance  of  official  action  in  choosing  and  set- 
ting apart  men  to  special  office  in  the  Church  arose  soon  after  the 
ordination  of  Matthias.lt  appears  that  one  feature  of  the  Church 
organization  in  early  apostolic  days  was  a  common  ownership 
of  material  things,  distribution  being  made  according  to  need. 
As  the  members  increased,  it  was  found  impracticable  for  the 
apostles  to  devote  the  necessary  attention  and  time  to  these 
temporal  matters,  so  they  called  upon  the  members  to  select 
seven  men  of  honest  report,  whom  the  apostles  would  appoint 
to  take  special  charge  of  these  affairs.    These  men  were  set 
apart  by  prayer  and  by  the  laying  on  of  hands. —  (Acts  6:1-7.) 
The  instance  is  instructive  as  showing  that  the  apostles  realized 
their  possession  of  authority  to  direct  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church 
and  that  they  observed  with  strict  fidelity  the  principle  of  com- 
mon consent  in  the  administration  of  their  high  office.     They 
exercised  their  priestly  powers  in  the  spirit  of  love,  and  with  due 
regard  to  the  rights  of  the  people  over  whom  they  were  placed 
to  preside. 

20.  Under  the  administration  of  the  apostles,  and  others 
who  labored  by  their  direction  in  positions  of  lesser  authority, 
the  Church  grew  in  numbers  and  in  influence. —  (See  Note  3,  end 
of  chapter.)     For  ten  or  twelve  years  after  the  ascension  of 
Christ,  Jerusalem  remained  the  headquarters  of  the  Church, 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  WESTERN  HEMISPHERE.        13 

but  branches,  or,  as  designated  in  the  scriptural  record,  separate 
"churches,"  were  established  in  the  outlying  provinces.  As 
such  branches  were  organized,  bishops,  deacons,  and  other  offi- 
cers were  chosen,  and  doubtless  ordained  by  authority,  to  min- 
ister in  local  affairs.—  (See  Philip.l  :1 ;  compare  I  Tim.3 :1,2,8,10. ) 

21.  That  the  commission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  the  apostles, 
instructing  them  to  preach  the  gospel  widely,  was  executed  with 
promptness  and  zeal,  is  evident  from  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
Church  in  the  early  apostolic  times.— (Acts  6:7;12:24;19:20.) 
Paul,  writing  about  A.  D.  64 — approximately  thirty  years  after 
the  ascension — declares  that  the  gospel  had  already  been  car- 
ried to  every  nation— "preached  to  every  creature  under  heaven' ' 

—  (Col.  1:23;  compare  verse  6)  by  which  expression  the  apostle 
doubtless  means  that  the  gospel  message  had  been  so  generally 
proclaimed,  that  all  who  would  might  learn  of  it. 

22.  Details  as  to  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  apos- 
tolic days  are  not  given  with  great  fulness.    As  already  shown, 
the  presiding  authority  was  vested  in  the  twelve  apostles;  and 
furthermore,  the  special  calling  of  the  seventies  has  received 
attention;  but  besides  these  there  were  evangelists,  pastors,  and 
teachers; — (Eph.  4:11)  and  in  addition,  high  priests, —  (Heb. 
5:1-5)  elders,— (Acts  14:23;25:6;  I  Peter  5:1)  bishops,— (I  Tim. 
3:1;  Titus  1:7)  etc.    The  purpose  of  these  several  offices  is  ex- 
plained by  Paul  to  be: — "For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ." 

—  (Eph.  4:12;  read  also  verses  13-16.)     The  Church  with  its 
graded  offices  and  its  spiritual  gifts  has  been  aptly  compared  to  a 
perfect  body  with  its  separate  organs  and  its  individual  mem- 
bers, each  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  yet  none  in- 
dependent of  the  rest.  As  in  the  human  organism  so  in  the  Church 
of  Christ,  no  one  with  propriety  can  say  to  another,  "I  have  no 
need  of  thee." — (See  I  Cor.  12.    See  note  4,  end  of  chapter.) 

The  Church  of  Christ  on  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

23.  We  have  seen,  on  the  evidence  of  the  Jewish  scriptures, 
how  the  Church  was  established  and  made  strong  in  Asia  and 
Europe  in  and  immediately  following  the  meridian  of  time.    The 
scriptures  cited  are  such  as  appeal  to  all  earnest  Christians;  the 
authority  is  that  of  the  New  Testament.    We  have  now  to  con- 


14  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

sider  the  establishment  of  the  Church  amongst  those  who  con- 
stituted another  division  of  the  house  of  Israel — a  people  in- 
habiting what  is  now  known  as  the  American  continent. 

24.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  unfamiliar  \vith  the 
Nephite  scriptures  published  to  the  world  as  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, a  brief  historical  summary  is  here  presented. —  (See  Note 
5,  end  of  chapter.)    In  the  year  600  B.  C.,  in  the  reign  of  King 
Zedekiah,  a  small  colony  was  led  from  Jerusalem  by  an  inspired 
prophet  named  Lehi.     These  people  were  brought  by  divine 
assistance  to  the  shores  of  the  Arabian  Sea,  where  they  con- 
structed a  vessel  in  which  they  crossed  the  great  waters  to  the 
western  coast  of  South  America.    They  landed  590  B.  C.    The 
people  were  soon  divided  into  two  parties,  led  respectively  by 
Nephi  and  Laman,  sons  of  Lehi;  and  these  factions  grew  into 
the  opposing  nations  known  in  history  as  Nephites  and  Laman- 
ites.    The  former  developed  while  the  latter  retrograded  in  the 
arts  of  civilization.     Nephite  prophets  predicted  the  earthly 
advent  of  the  Messiah,  and  foretold  His  ministry,  crucifixion, 
and  resurrection. 

25.  The  record  states  that  the  Messiah  appeared  in  person 
among  the  Nephites  on  the  western  continent.    This  was  subse- 
quent to  His  ascension  from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  A  foreshadow- 
ing of  this  great  event  was  given  by  Christ  in  a  declaration  made 
while  yet  He  lived  on  earth.    Comparing  Himself  to  the  good 
shepherd  who  giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep,  He  said:  "And  other 
sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold:  them  also  I  must  bring, 
and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there  shall  be  one  fold,  and  one 
shepherd." — (John  10:16;  read  verses  1-18  inclusive.  Compare 
III   Nephi   15:21.) 

26.  According  to  the  Nephite  record,   certain  predicted 
signs  of  the  Savior's  death  had  come  to  pass.    Destructive  earth- 
quakes and  other  dread  convulsions  of  nature  had  taken  place 
in  the  west,  while  the  supreme  tragedy  was  being  enacted  on 
Calvary.     The  people  of  the  land  Bountiful,  comprising  the 
northern  portion  of  South  America,  were  still  marveling  over 
the  great  convulsions  that  had  terrified  them  a  few  weeks  earlier, 
and  on  a  certain  occasion,  were  gathered  together  discussing  the 
matter,  when  they  heard  a  voice  as  from  the  heavens  saying: 
"Behold  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  in  whom 
I  have  glorified  my  name:  hear  ye  him." — (III  Nephi  11:7;  read 


NOTES.  15 

the  entire  chapter.)  Looking  up,  they  beheld  a  man  descend- 
ing. He  was  clothed  in  a  white  robe,  and  as  He  reached  the 
earth  He  said:  "Behold,  I  am  Jesus  Christ,  whom  the  prophets 
testified  shall  come  into  the  world.  *  *  *  Arise  and  come  forth 
unto  me,  that  ye  may  thrust  your  hands  into  my  side,  and  also 
that  ye  may  feel  the  prints  of  the  nails  in  my  hands  and  in  my 
feet,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am  the  God  of  Israel,  and  the 
God  of  the  whole  earth,  and  have  been  slain  for  the  sins  of  the 
world."— (Verses  10:14.) 

27.  Having  thus  declared  Himself,  Christ  proceeded  to  in- 
struct the  people  in  the  plan  of  the  gospel  as  He  had  preached 
it,  and  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church  as  He  had  established 
it  in  the  east.  He  visited  the  Nephite  people  on  subsequent 
occasions,  taught  them  many  of  the  precepts  previously  given 
to  the  Jews;  emphasized  the  doctrine  of  baptism  and  other 
ordinances  essential  to  salvation;  instituted  the  sacrament  in 
commemoration  of  His  atoning  death;  chose  and  commissioned 
twelve  apostles,  on  whom  He  conferred  authority  in  the  Church; 
explained  the  importance  of  designating  the  organization  by  its 
proper  name — the  Church  of  Christ;  and  announced  the  ful- 
filment of  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  fact  that  it  was  thenceforth 
superseded  by  the  gospel  embodied  within  the  Church  as  es- 
tablished by  Himself.  In  plan  of  organization,  in  doctrine  and 
precept,  and  in  prescribed  ordinances,  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
the  west  was  the  counterpart  of  the  Church  in  Palestine. 


28.  Thus  in  the  meridian  of  time  the  Church  of  God  was 
founded  on  both  sides  of  the  earth.  In  its  pristine  simplicity 
and  beauty  it  exhibited  the  majesty  of  a  divine  institution.  It 
is  now  our  saddening  duty  to  consider  the  decline  of  spiritual 
power  within  the  Church,  and  the  eventual  apostasy  of  the 
Church  itself. 

NOTES. 

1.  Conditions  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Christian  Era.  "At  the  birth  of  Christ 
this  amazing  federation  of  the  world  into  one  great  monarchy  had  been  finally 
achieved.  Augustus,  at  Rome,  was  the  sole  power  to  which  all  nations  looked. 
*  No  prince,  no  king,  no  potentate  of  any  name  could  break  the  calm 
which  such  a  universal  dominion  secured.  *  *  *  It  was  in  such  a  unique  era 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  born.  The  whole  earth  lay  hushed  in  profound  peace. 
All  lands  lay  freely  open  to  the  message  of  mercy  and  love  which  He  came  to 


16  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

announce.  Nor  was  the  social  and  moral  condition  of  the  world  at  large,  at 
the  birth  of  Christ,  less  fitting  for  His  advent  than  the  political.  The  prize  of 
universal  power  struggled  for  through  sixty  years  of  plots  and  desolating  civil 
wars,  had  been  won  at  last  by  Augustus.  Sulla  and  Marius,  Pompey  and 
Caesar,  had  led  their  legions  against  each  other,  alike  in  Italy  and  the  provinces, 
and  had  drenched  the  earth  with  blood.  Augustus  himself  had  reached  the 
throne  only  after  thirteen  years  of  war,  which  involved  regions  wide  apart. 
The  world  was  exhausted  by  the  prolonged  agony  of  such  a  strife;  it  sighed  for 
repose."  (Cunningham  Geikie,  "The  Life  and  Works  of  Christ,"  New  York, 
1894;  vol.  1,  p.  25.) 

"The  Roman  empire,  at  the  birth  of  Christ,  was  less  agitated  by  wars  and 
turmoils  than  it  had  been  for  many  years  before.  For  though  I  cannot  assent 
to  the  opinion  of  those  who,  following  the  account  of  Orosius,  maintain  that  the 
temple  of  Janus  was  then  shut,  and  that  wars  and  discords  absolutely  ceased 
throughout  the  world,  yet  it  is  certain  that  the  period  in  which  our  Savior 
descended  upon  earth  may  be  justly  styled  the  'pacific  age,'  if  we  compare  it 
with  the  preceding  times.  And  indeed  the  tranquillity  that  then  reigned  was 
necessary  to  enable  the  ministers  of  Christ  to  execute  with  success  their  sub- 
lime commission  to  the  human  race."  (Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical  History," 
Cent.  I,  Part  I;  ch.  1:4). 

2.  Paganism  at  the  Beginning  of  The  Christian  Era.  "Every  nation  then 
had  its  respective  gods,  over  which  presided  one  more  excellent  than  the  rest; 
yet  in  such  a  manner  that  this  supreme  deity  was  himself  controlled  by  the 
rigid  empire  of  the  fates,  or  what  the  philosophers  called  'external  necessity.' 
The  gods  of  the  east  were  different  from  those  of  the  Gauls,  the  Germans,  and 
the  other  northern  nations.  The  Grecian  divinities  differed  widely  from  those 
of  the  Egyptians,  who  deified  plants,  animals,  and  a  great  variety  of  the  pro- 
ductions both  of  nature  and  art.  Each  people  also  had  their  own  particular 
manner  of  worshipping  and  appeasing  their  respective  deities,  entirely  different 
from  the  sacred  rites  of  other  countries.  *  *  *  One  thing,  indeed,  which  at 
first  sight  appears  very  remarkable,  is,  that  this  variety  of  religions  and  of  gods 
neither  produced  wars  nor  dissensions  among  the  different  nations,  the  Egyp- 
tians excepted.  Nor  is  it  perhaps  necessary  to  except  even  them,  since  their 
wars  undertaken  for  their  gods  cannot  be  looked  upon  with  propriety  as  wholly 
of  a  religious  nature.  Each  nation  suffered  its  neighbors  to  follow  their  own 
method  of  worship,  to  adore  their  own  gods,  to  enjoy  their  own  rites  and  cere- 
monies, and  discovered  no  sort  of  displeasure  at  their  diversity  of  sentiments 
in  religious  matters.  There  is,  however,  little  wonderful  in  this  spirit  of  mutual 
toleration,  when  we  consider  that  they  all  looked  upon  the  world  as  one  great 
empire,  divided  into  various  provinces,  over  every  one  of  which  a  certain  order 
of  divinities  presided^  and  that  therefore  none  could  behold  with  contempt 
the  gods  of  other  nations,  or  force  strangers  to  pay  homage  to  theirs.  The 
Romans  exercised  this  toleration,  in  the  amplest  manner.  For,  though  they 
would  not  allow  any  changes  to  be  made  in  the  religions  that  were  publicly 
professed  in  the  empire,  nor  any  new  form  of  worship  to  be  openly  introduced, 
yet  they  granted  to  their  citizens  a  full  liberty  of  observing  in  private  the  sacred 
rites  of  other  nations,  and  of  honoring  foreign  deities  (whose  worship  contained 
nothing  inconsistent  with  the  interests  and  laws  of  the  republic)  with  feasts, 


NOTES.  17 

temples,  consecrated  groves  and  such  like  testimonies  of  homage  and  respect." 
(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  I,  Part  I;  ch.  1:7-8.) 

3.  Rapid  Growth  of  the  Church.    Eusebius,  who  wrote  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fourth  century,  speaking  of  the  first  decade  after  the  Savior's  ascension, 
says: 

"Thus,  then,  under  a  celestial  influence,  and  co-operation,  the  doctrine 
of  the  Savior,  like  the  rays  of  the  sun,  quickly  irradiated  the  whole  world.  Pres- 
ently, in  accordance  with  divine  prophecy,  the  sound  of  His  inspired  evangelists 
and  apostles  had  gone  throughout  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  ends  of 
the  world.  Throughout  every  city  and  village,  like  a  replenished  barn  floor, 
churches  were  rapidly  abounding  and  filled  with  members  from  every  people. 
Those  who,  in  consequence  of  the  delusions  that  had  descended  to  them  from 
their  ancestors,  had  been  fettered  by  the  ancient  disease  of  idolatrous  super- 
stition, were  now  liberated  by  the  power  of  Christ,  through  the  teachings  and 
miracles  of  His  messengers."  (Eusebius,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book  I, 
ch.  3.) 

4.  Divine  Instrumentality  in  the  Apostolic  Ministry.    "When  we  consider 
the  rapid  progress  of  Christianity  among  the  Gentile  nations,  and  the  poor  and 
feeble  instruments  by  which  this  great  and  amazing  event  was  immediately 
effected,  we  naturally  have  recourse  to  an  omnipotent  and  invisible  hand,  as 
its  true  and  proper  cause.    For,  unless  we  suppose  here  a  divine  interposition, 
how  was  it  possible  that  men,  destitute  of  all  human  aid,  without  credit  or 
riches,  learning,  or  eloquence,  could,  in  so  short  a  time,  persuade  a  considerable 
part  of  mankind  to  abandon  the  religion  of  their  ancestors?    How  was  it  pos- 
sible, that  an  handful  of  apostles,  who,  as  fishermen  and  publicans,  must  have 
been  contemned  by  their  own  nation,  and  as  Jews  must  have  been  odious  to 
all  others,  could  engage  the  learned  and  mighty,  as  well  as  the  simple  and  those 
of  low  degree,  to  forsake  their  favorite  prejudices,  and  to  embrace  a  new  re- 
ligion which  was  an  enemy  to  their  corrupt  passions?    And,  indeed,  there  were 
undoubted  marks  of  a  celestial  power  perpetually  attending  their  ministry. 
Their  very  language,  an  incredible  energy,  an  amazing  power  of  sending  light 
into  the  understanding  and  conviction  into  the  heart."     (Mosheim,  "Ecclesias- 
tical History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  1,  ch.  4:8.) 

5.  Nephites  and  Lamanites.    The  progenitors  of  the  Nephite  nation  "were 
led  from  Jerusalem  600  B.  C,  by  Lehi,  a  Jewish  prophet  of  the  tribe  of  Man- 
asseh.  t  His  immediate  family,  at  the  time  of  their  departure  from  Jerusalem, 
comprised  his  wife  Sariah,  and  their  sons  Laman,  Lemuel,  Sam,  and  Nephi; 
at  a  later  stage  of  the  history,  daughters  are  mentioned,  but  whether  any  of 
these  were  born  before  the  family  exodus  we  are  not  told.     Beside  his  own 
family,  the  colony  of  Lehi  included  Zoram  and  Ishmael,  the  latter  an  Israelite 
of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim.    Ishmael,  with  his  family,  joined  Lehi  in  the  wilder- 
ness; and  his  descendants  were  numbered  with  the  nation  of  whom  we  are 
speaking.    The  company  journeyed  somewhat  east  of  south,  keeping  near  the 
borders  of  the  Red  Sea;  then  changing  their  course  to  the  eastward,  crossed 
the  peninsula  of  Arabia  ^and  there,  on  the  shores  of  the  Arabian  Sea,  built 
and  provisioned  a  vessel  in  which  they  committed  themselves  to  Divine  care 
upon  the  waters.    Their  voyage  carried  them  eastward  across  the  Indian  Ocean, 


18  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

then  over  the  south  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  western  coast  of  South  America, 
whereon  they  landed  (590  B.  C.)  *  *  *  The  people  established  themselves 
on  what  to  them  was  the  land  of  promise;  many  children  were  born,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  generations  a  numerous  posterity  held  possession  of  the  land. 
After  the  death  of  Lehi,  a  division  occurred,  some  of  the  people  accepting  as 
their  leader  Nephi,  who  had  been  duly  appointed  to  the  prophetic  office;  while 
the  rest  proclaimed  Laman,  the  eldest  of  Lehi's  sons,  as  their  chief.  Hence- 
forth the  divided  people  were  known  as  Nephites  and  Lamanites  respectively. 
At  times  they  observed  toward  each  other  fairly  friendly  relations;  but  gen- 
erally they  were  opposed,  the  Lamanites  manifesting  implacable  hatred  and 
hostility  toward  their  Nephite  kindred.  The  Nephites  advanced  in  the  arts 
of  civilization,  built  large  cities,  and  established  prosperous  commonwealths; 
yet  they  often  fell  into  transgression;  and  the  Lord  chastened  them  by  making 
their  foes  victorious.  They  spread  northward,  occupying  the  northern  part  of 
South  America;  then,  crossing  the  Isthmus,  they  extended  their  domain  over 
the  southern,  central,  and  eastern  portions  of  what  is  now  the  United  States  of 
America.  The  Lamanites,  while  increasing  in  numbers,  fell  under  the  curse  of 
darkness;  they  became  dark  in  skin  and  benighted  in  spirit,  forgot  the  God  of 
their  fathers,  lived  a  wild  nomadic  life,  and  degenerated  into  the  fallen  state 
in  which  the  American  Indians, — their  lineal  descendants, — were  found  by 
those  who  re-discovered  the  western  continent  in  later  times."  (The  Author, 
"Articles  of  Faith,"  Lect.  14:7,  8;) 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Apostasy  Predicted. 

1.  In  proceeding  with  our  present  inquiry  we  accept  as 
demonstrated  facts  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
under  the  Savior's  personal  administration  and  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  Church  in  the  early  period  of  the  apostolic  ministry. 

2.  A  question  of  the  utmost  importance  is:  Has  the  Church 
of  Christ,  thus  authoritatively  established,  maintained  an  organ- 
ized existence  upon  the  earth  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the  pres- 
ent?   Other  questions  are  suggested  by  the  first.    If  the  Church 
has  continued  as  an  earthly  organization,  where  lies  the  proof 
or  evidence  of  legitimate  succession  in  priestly  authority,  and 
which  among  the  multitude  of  contending  sects  or  churches  of 
the  present  day  is  the  actual  possessor  of  the  holy  priesthood 
originally  committed  to  the  Church  by  the  Christ,  its  founder? 


THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  19 

3.  Again,  have  the  spiritual  gifts  and  graces  by  which  the 
early  Church  was  characterized  and  distinguished  been  manifest 
on  earth  through  the  centuries  that  have  passed  since  the  merid- 
ian of  time;  and  if  so,  in  which  of  the  numerous  churches  of  these 
modern  times  do  we  find  such  signs  following  the  professed 
believers?— (See  Mark  16:17.) 

4.  We  affirm  that  with  the  passing  of  the  so-called  apostolic 
age  the  Church  gradually  drifted  into  a  condition  of  apostasy, 
whereby  succession  in  the  priesthood  was  broken;  and  that  the 
Church,   as   an  earthly  organization   operating  under  divine 
direction  and  having  authority  to  officiate  in  spiritual  ordi- 
nances, ceased  to  exist. 

5.  If  therefore  the  Church  of  Christ  is  to  be  found  upon 
the  earth  to-day  it  must  have  been  re-established  by  divine 
authority;  and  the  holy  priesthood  must  have  been  restored  to 
the  world  from  which  it  was  lost  by  the  apostasy  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church. —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 

6.  We  affirm  that  the  great  apostasy  was  foretold  by  the 
Savior  Himself  while  He  lived  as  a  Man  among  men,  and  by 
His  inspired  prophets  both  before  and  after  the  period  of  His 
earthly  probation.    And  further,  we  affirm  that  a  rational  inter- 
pretation of  history  demonstrates  the  fact  of  this  great  and 
general  apostasy. 

7.  Before  we  take  up  in  detail  the  specific  predictions  re- 
ferred to,  and  the  evidence  of  their  dread  fulfilment,  we  may 
profitably  devote  brief  attention  to  certain  general  considera- 
tions. 

8.  Respecting  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  let  it  not  be  said 
that  divine  omniscience  is  of  itself  a  determining  cause  whereby 
events  are  inevitably  brought  to  pass.     A  mortal  father  who 
"knows  the  weaknesses  and  frailties  of  his  son  may  by  reason  of 
that  knowledge  sorrowfully  predict  the  calamities  and  suffer- 
ings awaiting  his  wayward  boy.  He  may  foresee  in  that  son's 
future  a  forfeiture  of  blessings  that  could  have  been  won,  loss 
of  position,  self-respect,  reputation  and  honor;  even  the  dark 
shadows  of  a  felon's  cell  and  the  night  of  a  drunkard's  grave  may 
appear  in  the  saddening  visions  of  that  fond  father's  soul;  yet, 
convinced  by  experience  of  the  impossibility  of  bringing  about 
that  son's  reform,  he  foresees  the  dread  developments  of  the 
future,  and  he  finds  but  sorrow  and  anguish  in  his  knowledge. 


20  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Can  it  be  said  that  the  father's  foreknowledge  is  a  cause  of  the 
son's  sinful  life?  The  son,  perchance,  has  reached  his  maturity; 
he  is  the  master  of  his  own  destiny;  a  free  agent  unto  himself. 
The  father  is  powerless  to  control  by  force  or  to  direct  by  ar- 
bitrary command;  and  while  he  would  gladly  make  any  effort 
or  sacrifice  to  save  his  son  from  the  fate  impending,  he  fears  for 
what  seems  to  be  an  awful  certainty.  But  surely  that  thoughtful, 
prayerful,  loving  parent  does  not  contribute  to  the  son's  way- 
wardness because  of  his  knowledge.  To  reason  otherwise  would 
be  to  say  that  a  neglectful  father,  who  takes  not  the  trouble  to 
study  the  nature  and  character  of  his  son,  who  shuts  his  eyes 
to  sinful  tendencies,  and  rests  in  careless  indifference  as  to  the 
probable  future,  will  by  his  very  heartlessness  be  benefiting  his 
child,  because  his  lack  of  forethought  cannot  operate  as  a 
contributory  cause  to  dereliction. 

9.  Our  Heavenly  Father  has  a  full  knowledge  of  the  nature 
and  dispositions  of  each  of  His  children,  a  knowledge  gained 
by  long  observation  and  experience  in  the  past  eternity  of  our 
primeval  childhood;  a  knowledge  compared  with  which  that 
gained  by  earthly  parents  through  mortal  experience  with  their 
children  is  infinitesimally  small.    By  reason  of  that  surpassing 
knowledge,  God  reads  the  future  of  child  and  children,  of  men 
individually  and  of  men  collectively  as  communities  and  nations; 
He  knows  what  each  will  do  under  given  conditions,  and  sees 
the  end  from  the  beginning.    His  foreknowledge  is  based  on  in- 
telligence and  reason;  He  foresees  the  future  as  a  state  which 
naturally  and  surely  will  be;  not  as  one  which  must  be  because 
He  has  arbitrarily  willed  that  it  shall  be. 

10.  But,  it  may  be  argued  that  in  the  illustrative  instance 
given  above — that  of  the  earthly  parent  and  the  wayward  son, — 
the  father  had  not  the  power  to  change  the  sad  course  of  sin 
whereby  his  son  is  hastening  to  ignominy  and  destruction;  while 
the  omnipotent  Father  can  save  if  He  will.    In  reply  this  is  to  be 
said:  The  Father  of  souls  has  endowed  His  children  with  the 
divine  birthright  of  free  agency;  He  does  not  and  will  not  con- 
trol them  by  arbitrary  force;  He  impels  no  man  toward  sin; 
He  compels  none  to  righteousness.    Unto  man  has  been  given 
freedom  to  act  for  himself;  and,  associated  with  this  indepen- 
dence, is  the  fact  of  strict  responsibility  and  the  assurance  of 
individual  accountability.    In  the  judgment  with  which  we  shall 


THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  21 

be  judged,  all  the  conditions  and  circumstances  of  our  lives  shall 
be  considered.  The  inborn  tendencies  due  to  heredity,  the  effect 
of  environment  whether  conducive  to  good  or  evil,  the  whole- 
some teachings  of  youth,  or  the  absence  of  good  instruction — 
these  and  all  other  contributory  elements  must  be  taken  into 
account  in  the  rendering  of  a  just  verdict  as  to  the  soul's  guilt 
or  innocence.  Nevertheless,  the  divine  wisdom  makes  plain 
what  will  be  the  result  with  given  conditions  operating  on  known 
natures  and  dispositions  of  men;  while  every  individual  is  free 
to  choose  good  or  evil  within  the  limits  of  the  many  conditions 
existing  and  operative. —  (See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter.) 

11.  Another  matter  worthy  of  thought  in  the  present  con- 
nection is  this:  Is  the  fact  of  the  great  apostasy, — the  virtual 
overthrow  and  destruction  of  the  Church  established  by  Jesus 
Christ, — to  be  regarded  as  an  instance  of  failure  in  the  Lord's 
plans?  Is  it  a  case  of  defeat  in  which  Satan  was  victor  over  Christ? 
Consider  the  following.     What  mortal  has  yet  measured  the 
standard  by  which  Omniscience  gages  success  or  failure?    Who 
dares  affirm  that  what  man  hails  as  triumph  or  deplores  as  de- 
feat will  be  so  accounted  when  tested  by  the  principles  of  eternal 
reckoning? 

12.  The  history  of  the  world  abounds  with  instances  of  the 
temporary  triumph  of  evil,  of  justice  seemingly  miscarried,  of 
divine  plans  for  the  time  being  frustrated,  of  God's  purposes 
opposed  and  their  consummation  delayed. 

13.  We  read  of  the  Lord's   covenant   with   Israel.     Unto 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  He  declared  that  their  descendants 
should  be  a  people  chosen  for  His  special  service  among  the  na- 
tions.   Through  that  lineage  the  Savior  of  mankind  was  to  be 
born;  in  the  posterity  of  Abraham  all  nations  of  the  earth  were 
to  be  blessed.    Blessings  beyond  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive, 
beyond  the  mind  of  man  to  comprehend,  were  promised  on  con- 
dition of  loyal  allegiance  to  Him  who  proclaimed  Himself  their 
God  and  their  King.     Moreover  the  Lord  predicted  calamity 
and  suffering,  and  individual  affliction  and  national  disgrace,  if 
Israel  departed  from  the  service  of  Jehovah  and  yielded  to  the 
enticements  of  their  heathen  neighbors  who  knew  not  God. 
Think  you  that  the  Lord  was  ignorant  of  the  course  His  people 
would   choose?     Did   He  fail    to    foresee    that    Israel    would 
follow  the  evil  way,  forfeiting  the  blessings  and  reaping  the 


22  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

harvest  of  sorrow?  Jehovah's  plans  failed  not,  though  the 
realization  of  the  blessings  so  abundantly  promised  has  been 
long  delayed.  Equally  forceful  with  the  prediction  of  calamity 
in  case  of  sin,  was  the  promise  of  eventual  restoration  to  favor. 
The  dispersion  of  Israel  already  accomplished,  was  to  be  followed 
by  the  gathering  of  Israel  now  in  progress. —  (See  the  Author's 
"Articles  of  Faith,"  lectures  17  and  18.) 

14.  What  would  have  been  the  world's  verdict  as  to  the  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  the  mission  of  the  Christ,  had  a  vote  been 
taken  at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion?     Seemingly  His  enemies 
had  triumphed;  He  who  proclaimed  Himself  the  Messiah,  the 
Son  of  God,  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  over  whom  death 
could  not  prevail,  had  suffered  the  fate  of  malefactors,  and  His 
body  was  in  the  tomb.    But  the  verdict  of  the  centuries,  which 
is  the  verdict  of  the  eternities  to  come,  acclaims  that  "failure" 
as  the  greatest  triumph  of  the  ages,  the  victory  of  victories. 

15.  Even  so  with  the  Church.    For  a  season  the  powers  of 
/"  evil  triumphed,  and  the  spirit  of  apostasy  ruled.    But  beyond 

the  darkness  of  the  spiritual  night  the  glorious  dawn  of  the 
restoration  was  seen  in  prophetic  vision,  and  both  the  night 
with  its  horrors,  and  the  awakening  day  with  its  splendor,  were 
foreseen  and  foretold. 

16.  In  our  study  of  the  predictions  of  the  apostasy  as  em- 
bodied in  scripture  and  of  their  realization  as  attested  by  later 
history,  we  shall  recognize  two  distinct  phases  or  stages  of  the 
progressive  falling  awray  as  follows: 

,.  (1)     Apostasy  from  the  Church;  and 

II  (2)     The  apostasy  of  the  Church. 

17.  In  the  first  stage  we  have  to  deal  with  the  forsaking  of 
the  truth  and  severance  from  the  Church  by  individuals,  at 
times  few,  at  other  times  many.    Such  conditions  can  scarcely 
be  considered  otherwise  than  as  natural  and  inevitable.    History 
fails  to  present  any  example  of  great  undertakings  upon  which 
multitudes  enter  with  enthusiasm,  and  from  which  many  do 
not  desert.    Unless  such  cases  of  individual  abandonment  are 
so  numerous  as  to  show  the  operation  of  some  vital  cause  of 
disaffection,  we  would  not  need  the  authority  of  divine  predic- 
tion and  inspired  prophecy  to  explain  the  occurrence.    We  find, 
however,  that  apostasy  from  the  Primitive  Church  was  wide- 


THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  23 

spread  and  general,  and  that  the  causes  leading  to  such  a  con- 
dition were  of  vital  significance. 

18.  In  the  second  of  the  two  stages  already  specified  we  are 
confronted  with  conditions  of  far  greater  import  than  those  at- 
tending individual  secession  from  the  Church;  for  here  we  find 
the  Church  sinking  to  the  degraded  level  of  a  human  institution, 
with  plan  of  organization  and  mode  of  operation  foreign  to  the 
constitution  of  the  original,  without  priesthood  or  authority  to 
officiate  in  spiritual  ordinances,  and  devoid  of  the  gifts  and 
graces  with  which  the  Savior  endowed  His  Church  at  the  time 
of  its  establishment.    In  short,  we  find  the  Church  itself  apos- 
tate, boasting  of  temporal  power,  making  its  own  laws,  teach- 
ing its  own  dogmas,  preserving  only  a  form  of  godliness,  while 
denying  the  power  thereof. —  (See  II  Tim.  3:1-6.) 

Specific  Predictions  of  the  Apostasy. 

19.  The  Lord  foresaw  the  great  and  general  departure  from 
the  principles  of  righteousness,  and  from  the  beginning  knew 
that  men  would  set  up  their  own  forms  of  worship,  wrongfully 
claiming  divine  authority  for  the  same.     Through  the  mouths 
of  His  chosen  prophets  He  has  repeatedly  predicted  the  in- 
evitable event. —  (See  note  3,  end  of  chapter.) 

20.  Among  the  prophecies  antedating  the  birth  of  Christ 
the  following  may  be  noted.  Isaiah  beheld  in  vision  the  con- 
dition of  the  earth  in  the  era  of  spiritual  darkness,  a  period  in 
which  all  classes  would  be  involved  in  a  general  condition  of 
unrighteousness,  a  time  when  the  world  of  mankind  would  be 
in  a  helpless  and  practically  hopeless  condition.     He  pictures 
the  earth  mourning  and  languishing  in  desolation  and  assigns 
the  reason  for  the  sad  condition  as  follows:  "The  earth  also  is  de-j 
filed  under  the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they  have  trans-j 
gressed  the  laws,  changed  the  ordinance,  broken  the  everlastJ 

've.)     J 


ingcpvenant.'' — (Isaiah  24:5;  read  verses  1  to  6  inclusive.)  J  ' 
21.  It  may  be  thought  that  this  prophecy  has  reference  to 
a  violation  of  the  law  of  Moses  under  which  ancient  Israel 
lived.  Let  it  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  Mosiac  law  is 
nowhere  called  an  everlasting  covenant.  The  covenant  between 
the  Lord  and  Abraham  antedated  the  giving  of  the  law  by  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years,  and,  as  pointed  out  by  Paul — (Gala- 
tians  3:17;  read  the  entire  chapter.)  In  his  epistle  to  the 


24  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Galatians,  whom  he  designates  as  foolish  because  of  their  con- 
fusing the  law  of  Moses  and  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  law  could 
not  nullify  the  earlier  covenant  the  fulfillment  of  which  could 
come  only  through  Christ.  The  "law,"  by  which  the  inspired 
apostle  plainly  means  the  Mosaic  statutes,  was  but  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  "faith,"  by  which  latter  expression  the  gospel  as 
revealed  by  Christ  is  clearly  intended.  "But  before  faith  came," 
says  Paul,  "we  were  kept  under  the  law,  shut  up  unto  the  faith 
which  should  afterwards  be  revealed.  Wherefore  the  law  was 
our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be 
justified  by  faith.  But  after  that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no 
longer  under  a  schoolmaster.  For  ye  are  the  children  of  God 
by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been 
baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ.  There  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male 
(nor  female:  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  ye  be 
Christ's  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to 
the  promise."— (Verses  23-29.) 

22.  It  is  evident  from  the  tenor  of  the  entire  chapter,  that 
while  the  gospel  was  preached  unto  Abraham,  and  covenant 
made  with  him  relating  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  through 
his  posterity,  the  gospel  did  not  abide  with  Israel,  and  this  be- 
cause of  transgression; — (Verse  19.)  but  in  lieu  thereof  the 
Mosaic  law  was  instituted  as  a  disciplinary  measure,  temporary 
in  character,  destined  to  be  superseded  by  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  assuredly  not  an  everlasting^ovenant.    On  the  other  hand, 
the  blood  of  Christ,  through  the^sHedHmg  of  which  the  atoning 
sacrifice  was  wrought,  is  distinctively  called  "the  blood  of  the 
everlasting  covenant," — (Hebrews  13:20.) 

23.  It  is  evident  then  that  Isaiah's  fateful  prophecy  relating 
to  the  breaking  of  the  everlasting  covenant  could  have  no  refer- 
ence to  a  departure  from  the  Mosaic  requirements,  but  must 
refer  to  a  then  future  condition  of  apostasy  following  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  everlasting  covenant.     Moreover,  part  of 
the  great  prediction,  referring  to  the  burnings  and  widespread 
calamities, —  (See  Isaiah  24:6.)   yet  awaits  its  complete  ful- 
fillment. 

24.  Another  prediction  applicable  to  the  period  when  there 
should  be  no  Church  of  Christ  to  be  found,  and  when,  in  con- 
sequence there  should  be  lamentation  and  suffering,  is  that  of 


X 

THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  25 

vT Amos.  "Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord  God,  that  I 
/  will  send  a  famine  in  the  land,  not  a  famine  of  bread,  nor  a 
|  thirst  for  water,  but  of  hearing  the  words  of  the  Lord:  And 
\  they  shall  wander  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  north  even  to 
the  east,  they  shall  run  to  and  fro  to  seek  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
\jind  shall  not  find  it."— (Amos  8:li,  12.) 

25.  Christ  instructed  His  followers  in  terms  at  once  direct 
and  conclusive,  as  to  the  apostasy  then  impending.    In  reply  to 
certain  inquiries  concerning  the  signs  by  which  His  second 
advent  would  be  heralded,  He  said:  "Take  heed  that  no  man  \{j 
deceive  you.    For  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  arnj 
Christ;  and  shall  deceive  many." — (Matt.  24:4,  5.)     Then  He 

^_told  of  approaching  wars  and  political  disturbances,  and  added: 
~""And  then  shall  many  be  offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another, 
and  shall  hate  one  another.  And  many  false  prophets  shall  rise 
and  shall  deceive  many.  And  because  iniquity  shall  abound, 
the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold.  But  he  that  shall  endure  unto 
the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved." — (Verses  10-13.  See  note  4, 
end  of  chapter.) 

26.  Further    specifying    the    conditions   incident    to    the 
growing  apostasy,  Christ  declared  to  His  disciples:  "Then  shall 
they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and  shall  kill  you:  and  ye 
shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake." — (Verse  9.) 
And  again:  "Then  if  any  man  shall  say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is 
Christ,  or  there;  believe  it  not.  For  there  shall  arise  false  Christs, 
and  false  prophets,  and  shall  shew  great  signs  and  wonders; 
insomuch  that  if  it  were  possible,  they  shall  deceive  the  very] 
elect.    Behold,  I  have  told  you  before.    Wherefore  if  they  shall 
say  unto  you,  Behold,  he  is  in  the  desert;  go  not  forth;  behold, 
he  is  in  the  secret  chambers;  believe  it  not." — (Verses  23-26^ 

27.  After  the  departure  of  Christ  from  earth  His  apostles 
continued  to  warn  the  people  of  the  darkness  to  come.    In  that 
memorable  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  when,  as  he  told 
them,  they  were  looking  upon  his  face  for  the  last  time,  Paul 
reminded  his  hearers  of  the  instructions  he  had  previously 

iven  them,  and  then  charged  them  with  this  solemn  warning: 
'For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves 
enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock.    Also  of  your  own 
selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw  away 


'  "'7 

•e  is       S 
ists,   f 
ters:  I 


26  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

disciples  after  them."— (Acts  20:29,  30;  read  verses  17  to  31 
incl.) 

28.  Not  only  would  outsiders  ingratiate  themselves  with 
the  saints  for  purposes  of  selfish  gain — wolves  entering  in,  and 
not  sparing  the  flock, — but  schisms  and  divisions  were  immi- 
nent; and  these  dissensions  were  to  come  through  some  then 
present — men  who  would  aspire  to  leadership,  and  who  would 
set  up  their  own  doctrines,  thus  drawing  disciples  away  from  the 
Church  and  unto  themselves. 

29.  The  same  apostle  warns  Timothy  of  the  approaching 
apostasy,  and  refers  to  some  of  the  erroneous  teachings  that 
would  be  impressed  upon  misguided  people, — teachings  which 
he  calls  "doctrines  of  devils."    He  admonishes  Timothy  to  put 
the  brethren  in  remembrance  of  these  things,  as  is  becoming 
in  a  good  minister  of  Christ,  "nourished  up  in  the  words  of 

^faith  and  of  good  doctrine."     Note  the  inspired  prediction: 
''Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  expressly,  that  in  the  latter  times 
some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits, 
and  doctrines  of  devils;  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy;  having  their 
conscience  seared  with  a  hot  iron;  forbidding  to  marry,  and 
commanding  to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath  created 
Vto  be  received  with  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and 
>   (know  the  truth."— (I  Tim.  4:1-3.  SeeJSFote  5,  end  of  chapter.) 

30.  In  a  second"  epistle  to   his  ^beloved   Timothy,   while 
laboring  under  the  premonition  that  his  martyrdom  was  near 
at  hand,  Paul  urges  zeal  and  energy  in  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel; for  the  shadows  of  the  apostasy  were  gathering  about  the 
Church.     His  admonition  is  pathetic  in  its  earnestness:   "I 
charge  thee  therefore,  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing  and 
lis  kingdom;  Preach  the  word;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of 
season;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  dec- 
line.   For  the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not  endure  sound 
doctrine ;  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall  they  heap  to  themselves 
teachers,  having  itching  ears;  and  they  shall  turn  away  their 
ears  from  the  truth,  and  shall  be  turned  unto  fables." — (II 
Tim.  4:1-4.) 

sTTln  addressing  the  Thessalonian  saints,  Paul  warns 
them  against  the  error  strongly  advocated  by  some  that  the  day 
of  Christ's  second  advent  was  then  near  at  hand.  It  appears 


^K 

THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  27 

that  deception  was  being  practiced,  and  that  even  forgery  was 
suspected,  for  the  apostle  instructs  the  people  that  they  be  not 
deceived  ^bv  word  nor  bv  letter  as  from  us."  The  admonition 
is  forceful:  "Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together  unto  Him, 
That  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by 
spirit,  nor  by  word,  nor  bv  letter  as  from  us.  as  that  the  day  of 
Christ  is  at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means:  for 
.  that  day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away  first, 
and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition;  who 
opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or 
is  worshiped;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of 
God,  shewing  himself  that  he  is  God."—  ( II  Thess.  1:2-14.) 
e  shall  see  how  painfully  literal  has  been  the  fulfilment  of 
this  prophecy  in  the  blasphemous  assumptions  of  the  apostate 
church,  centuries  later. 

32.  The  Apostle  Peter  prophesied  in  language  so  plain 
that  none  may  fail  to  comprehend,   concerning  the  heresies 
that  would  be  preached  as  doctrine  in  the  period  of  the  apostasy; 
and  He  reminds  the  people  that  there  were  false  teachers  in 
olden  times,  even  as  there  would  be  in  times  then  future: 
"But  there  were  false  prophets  also  among  the  people,  even  as 
there  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you,  who  privily  shall  bring 
in  damnable  heresies,  even  denying  the  Lord  that  bought  them, 
and  bring  upon  themselves  swift  destruction.    And  many  shall 
follow  their  pernicious  ways;  by  reason  of  whom  the  way  of 
truth  shall  be  evil  spoken  of.    And  through  covetousness  shall 
they  with  feigned  words   make   merchandise  of  you:   whose 
judgment  now  of  a  long  time  lingereth  not,  and  their  damnation 
slumbereth  not." — (II  Peter  2:1-3.     Read  the  entire  chapter, 
noting  the  description  of  conditions  existing  in  the  world  today. ) 

33.  Jude,  the  brother  of  James,  in  his  general  epistle  to  the 
saints,    reminds    them    of    earlier    warnings:    "But,    beloved, 
remember  ye  the  words  which  were  spoken  before  of  the  apos- 
tles of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  How  that  they  told  you  there 
should  be  mockers  in  the  last  time,  who  should  walk  after  their 
own  ungodly  lusts."—  (Jude  17.JJLA-— — 

34.  John,  who  is  called  the  Revelator.  saw  in  vision  the 
state  of  the  world  in  the  days  ^henfuturep  Describing  the  spirit 
of  unrighteousness  as<e  hideous^beastTami  its  author,  Satan,  as 


28  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

the  dragon,  he  says:  "And  they  worshiped  the  dragon  which 
gave  power  unto  the  beast:  and  they  worshiped  the  beast, 
saying,  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast?  who  is  able  to  make  war 
with  him?  *  *  *  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blasphemy  against 
God,  to  blaspheme  his  name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and  them  that 
dwell  in  heaven.  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with 
the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them:  and  power  was  given  him 
over  all  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations.  And  all  that  dwell 
upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him,  whose  names  are  not  written 
in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear." — (Rev.  13:4,6-9.) 
357  Note  another  prophecy  based  on  the  vision  of  John  the 
Revelator.  Again  referring  to  latter-day  conditions  he  declares: 
"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the 
everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people, 
Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him;  for 
the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come:  and  worship  him  that  made 
heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  water." 
—  (Rev.  14:6,  7.) 

36.  While  it  is  true  that  the  scripture  last  quoted  does  not 
specifically  predict  the  apostasy,  the  breaking  up  of  the  Church  is 
treated  as  an  event  actually  accomplished.  The  Revelator 
^.looked  beyond  the  period  of  disruption  and  saw  the  brighter  day 
of  the  restoration  of  the  gospel — a  re-establishment  of  the 
Church  through  the  ministry  of  an  angel.  It  is  illogical  to 
assume  that  the  gospel  was  to  be  brought  to  earth  by  a 
heavenly  messenger  if  that  gospel  was  still  extant  upon  the 
earth.  Equally  unreasonable  is  it  to  say  that  a  restoration  or 
re-establishment  of  the  Church  of  Christ  would  be  necessary 
or  possible  had  the  Church  continued  with  rightful  succession 
of  priesthood  and  power.  If  the  gospel  had  to  be  brought 
again  from  the  heavens,  the  gospel  must  have  been  taken  from 
the  earth.  (Thus  the  prophecy  of  a  restoration  is  proof  of  an 
apostasy  general  and  complete.  ~) 

Apostasy  on  the  Western  Hemisphere  Predicted. 

37.  In  the  preceding  chapter  it  was  shown  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  was  established  by  the  Risen  Lord  among  the  Nephites 
of  the  western  world.  It  was  foreseen  that  the  powers  of  evil 


THE  APOSTASY  PREDICTED.  29 

would  be  permitted  to  prevail  in  the  west  as  in  the  east.  Con- 
sider the  fateful  words  of  the  prophet  Alma  addressed  to  his 
son  Helaman:  "Behold,  I  perceive  that  this  very  people,  the 
Nephites,  according  to  the  spirit  of  revelation  which  is  in  me, 
in  four  hundred  years  from  the  time  that  Jesus  Christ  shall 
manifest  himself  unto  them,  shall  dwindle  in  unbelief;  Yea,  and 
then  shall  they  see  wars  and  pestilence,  yea,  famines  and  blood- 
shed, even  until  the  people  of  Nephi  shall  become  extinct;  Yea, 
and  this  because  they  shall  dwindle  in  unbelief,  and  fall  into  the 
works  of  darkness,  and  lasciviousness,  and  all  manner  of  in- 
iquities; yea,  I  say  unto  you,  that  because  they  shall  sin  against 
so  great  light  and  knowledge;  yea,  I  say  unto  you,  that  from  that 
day,  even  the  fourth  generation  shall  not  pass  away,  before  this 
great  iniquity  shall  come." — (Alma  45:10-12.) 

38.  An  earlier  prophecy  relating  to  the  degradation  of  the 
surviving   remnant   of    Lehi's    descendants,    was    uttered    by 
Nephi,  as  a  result  of  a  revelation  communicated  to  him  through 
angelic  visitation.     He  thus  describes  his  vision  of  the  future: 
"I  beheld  and  saw  that  the  seed  of  my  brethren  did  contend 
against  my  seed,  according  to  the  word  of  the  angel;  and  be- 
cause of  the  pride  of  my  seed,  and  the  temptations  of  the  devil, 

I  beheld  that  the  seed  of  my  brethren  did  overpower  the  people 
of  my  seed.    And  it  came  to  pass  that  I  beheld  and  saw  the 
people  of  the  seed  of  my  brethren,  that  they  had  overcome  my 
seed;  and  they  went  forth  in  multitudes  upon  the  face  of  the 
land.    And  I  saw  them  gathered  together  in  multitudes;  and  I 
saw  wars  and  rumors  of  wars  among  them;  and  in  wars  and 
rumors  of  wars,  I  saw  many  generations  pass  away.    And  the 
angel  said  unto  me,  Behold  these  shall  dwindle  in  unbelief.    And 
it  came  to  pass  that  I  beheld  after  they  had  dwindled  in  un- 
belief, they  became  a  dark,  and  loathsome,  and  filthy  people, 
full  of  idleness  and  all  manner  of  abominations." — (I  Nephi 
12:19-23.  For  other  Book  of  Mormon  predictions  of  spiritual  de- 
cline on  the  western  continent,  see  II  Nephi  27:1;  read  also 

II  Nephi  26:19-22,  and  chapter  29.)    The  degraded  state  of  the 
North  American  Indians,— descendants  of  a  prophet-father — 
is  a  striking  realization  of  this  prophetic  declaration. 

39.  The  scriptures  cited  are  sufficient  to  show  that  wide- 
spread apostasy  from  the  Church  was  foreseen;  that  the  cor-* 


30  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

ruption  of  the  Church  itself  was  likewise  foreknown;  and  that 
on  both  hemispheres  a  general  apostasy  was  foretold. 

NOTES. 

1.  The  Church,  Primitive  and  Restored.     The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  declares  by  its  name  a  distinction  from  the  Primitive  Church 
as  established  by  Christ  and  His  early  apostles.    The  essential  designation  of 
the  restored  Church  is  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ;  its  authorized  name  is  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  the  final  phrase  being  added  to 
distinguish   the    Church   as   established  in  the  present  dispensation  from  the 
Church  as  organized  by  the  Savior  during  the  period  of  His  earthly  ministry. 
This  distinction  is  shown  in  one  of  our  Articles  of  Faith:  "We  (the  Church  of 
today)  believe  in  the  same  organization  that  existed  in  the  Primitive  Church." 

2.  Man's  Free  Agency.    The  teachings  of  the  restored  Church  respecting 
individual  freedom  of  action  are  thus  summarized:  "The  Church  holds  and 
teaches  as  a  strictly  scriptural  doctrine,  that  man  has  inherited  among  the 
inalienable  rights  conferred  upon  him  by  his  divine  Father,  absolute  freedom  to 
choose  the  good  or  the  evil  in  life  as  he  may  elect.    This  right  cannot  be  guarded 
with  more  jealous  care  than  is  bestowed  upon  it  by  God  Himself;  for  in  all  His 
dealings  with  man,  He  has  left  the  mortal  creature  free  to  choose  and  to  act, 
with  no  semblance  of  compulsion  or  restraint,  beyond  the  influences  of  paternal 
counsel  and  loving  direction.     True,  He  has  given  commandments,  and  has 
established  statutes,  with  promises  of  blessings  for  compliance  and  dire  penalties 
for  infraction;  but  in  the  choice  of  these,  God's  children  are  untrammeled.    In 
this  respect,  man  is  no  less  free  than  are  the  angels  and  the  Gods,  except  as  he 
has  fettered  himself  with  the  bonds  of  sin,  and  forfeited  his  power  of  will  and 
force  of  soul.    The  individual  has  a  full  measure  of  liberty  to  violate  the  laws  of 
health,  the  requirements  of  nature,  and  the  commandments  of  God  in  matters 
both  temporal  and  spiritual,  as  he  has  to  obey  all  such;  in  the  one  case  he  brings 
upon  himself  the  sure  penalties  that  belong  to  the  broken  law;  as  in  the  other  he 
inherits  the  specific  blessings  and  the  added  freedom  that  attend  a  law-abiding 
life.    Obedience  to  law  is  the  habit  of  the  free  man;  'tis  the  transgressor  who 
fears  the  law,  for  he  brings  upon  himself  deprivation  and  restraint,  not  because 
of  the  law,  which  would  have  protected  him  in  his  freedom,  but  because  of  his 
rejection  of  law.    The  predominant  attribute  of  justice,  recognized  as  part  of 
Divine  nature,  forbids  the  thought  that  man  should  receive  promises  of  re- 
ward for  righteousness,  and  threats  of  punishment  of  evil  deeds,  if  he  possessed 
no  power  of  independent  action.    It  is  no  more  a  part  of  God's  plan  to  compel 
men  to  work  righteousness,  than  it  is  His  purpose  to  permit  evil  powers  to  force 
His  children  into  sin.     In  the  days  of  Eden,  the  first  man  had  placed  before 
him  commandment  and  law,  with  an  explanation  of  the  penalty  which  would 
follow  a  violation  of  that  law.    No  law  could  have  been  given  him  in  righteous- 
ness, had  he  not  been  free  to  act  for  himself.    'Nevertheless,  thou  mayest  choose 
for  thyself,  for  it  is  given  unto  thee;  but  remember  that  I  forbid  it,'  said  the 
Lord  God  to  Adam.     Concerning  His  dealings  with  the  first  patriarch  of  the 
race,  God  has  declared  in  this  day,  'Behold  I  gave  unto  him  that  he  should  be 
an  agent  unto  himself.'  "  (The  Author,  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  3:1,  2.) 


NOTES.  31 

3.  The  Testimony  of  Prophecy  to  the  Apostasy.    "What  is  prophecy  but 
history  reversed?    Nothing.    Prophecy  is  a  record  of  things  before  they  trans- 
pire.    History  is  a  record  of  them  after  they  have  occurred;  and  of  the  two 
prophecy  is  more  to  be  trusted  for  its  accuracy  than  history:  for  the  reason  that 
it  has  for  its  source  the  unerring  inspiration  of  Almighty  God;  while  history — 
except  in  the  case  of  inspired  historians — is  colored^by  the  favor  or  prejudice  of 
the  writer,  depends  for  its  exactness  upon  the  point  of  view  from  which  he 
looks  upon  the  events;  and  is  likely  to  be  marred  in  a  thousand  ways  by  the 
influences  surrounding  him — party  considerations,  national  interest  or  prejudice; 
supposed  influence  upon  present  conditions  and  future  prospects — all  these 
things  may  interfere  with  history;  but  prophecy  is  free  from  such  influences. 
Historians  are  self-constituted,  or  appointed  by  men;  but  prophets  are  chosen 
of  God.    Selected  by  divine  wisdom,  and  illuminated  by  that  Spirit  which  shows 
things  that  are  to  come,  prophets  have  revealed  to  them  so  much  of  the  future 
as  God  would  have  men  to  know,  and  the  inspired  writers  record  it  for  the 
enlightenment  or  warning  of  mankind,  without  the  coloring  or  distortion  so 
liable  to  mar  the  work  of  the  historian.    Thus  Moses  recorded  what  the  history 
of  Israel  would  be  on  condition  of  their  obedience  to  God:  and  what  it  would 
be  if  they  were  disobedient.     Israel  was  disobedient,  and  historians  have  ex- 
hausted their  art  in  attempts  to  tell  of  their  disobedience  and  suffering;  but 
neither  in  vividness  nor  accuracy  do  the  histories  compare  with  the  prophecy. 
So  with  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  in  respect  to  the  rise  and  succession  of  the  great 
political  powers  that  should  dominate  the  earth,  and  the  final  triumph  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.      So  with  well-nigh  all  of  the  prophecies." — (B.  H.  Roberts, 
"A  New  Witness  for  God,"  pp.  113,  114.) 

4.  Christ's  Prediction  of  the  Apostasy.    The  forceful  prophecy,  couched  in 
terms  of  vivid  description,  uttered  by  our  Lord  in  response  to  inquiries  by  His 
disciples,  has  been  the  subject  of  diverse  opinion  and  varied  comment,  particu- 
larly as  regard  the  time  to  which  the  prediction  refers.     As  recorded  in  the 

iU      twenty-fourth  chapter  of  Matthew,  a  significant  sign  of  the  progress  of  events 
it  to  precede  the  second  coming  of  Christ  was  stated  as  follows:  "And  this  gospel  \ 

**^  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations;  ) 
and  then  shall  the  end  come."  (Verse  14.)  It  is  claimed  by  many  that  tfte-y 
"end"  referred  to  in  the  passage  quoted  is  not  necessarily  the  close  of  the  final 
dispensation,  not  what  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  end  of  the  world,  but  the 
closing  up  of  the  gospel  dispensation  then  current;  and  in  support  of  this  in- 
terpretation it  is  urged  that  following  the  utterance  quoted  Christ  proceeded 
to  predict  the  calamities  then  awaiting  Jerusalem.  That  during  the  period 
covered  by  the  earthly  ministry  of  the  apostles,  the  gospel  was  preached  in  all 
the  civilized  nations  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere,  is  evident  alike  from  scripture 
and  from  the  uncanonical  writings  of  repute  relating  to  that  period.  Paul  speaks 
of  the  Gospel  as  having  been  carried  in  his  day  to  the  world,  and  as  having  been 
preached  to  every  creature  under  heaven  (see  Colos.  1:6,  23;  compare  Romans 
10:18;  see  also  Note  3,  following  chapter  I  of  this  work,  page  15.) 

In  Joseph  Smith's  version  of  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  of  Matthew  the 
paragraph  relating  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  all  the  world  as  one  of  the 
signs  specified  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  transposed  so  as  to  apply  more  directly  to 
the  modern  or  last  dispensation.  (See  Pearl  of  Great  Price,  Writings  of  Joseph 


32  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Smith,  1.)  The  scripture  under  consideration  has  direct  application  to  the 
conditions  characteristic  of  present  times — the  period  now  current  and  im- 
mediately precedent  to  the  second  advent  of  the  Christ.  This  fact,  however, 
does  not  necessarily  nullify  its  application  to  the  earlier  period  as  well.  His- 
tory repeats  itself  in  many  instances  in  this,  "the  dispensation  of  the  fulness 
of  times;"  indeed,  the  very  name  is  expressive  of  a  summarizing  or  gathering 
together  of  things  past,  and  this  involves  recurrence  of  earlier  conditions  and 
re-enactment  of  laws.  The  prediction  of  world-wide  evangelization  is  not  the 
only  instance  of  a  general  prophecy  having  more  than  a  single  limited  horizon 
of  fulfillment.  In  the  apostolic  period  the  gospel  was  carried  to  all  nations 
known  to  the  Lord's  ministers;  a  similar  work  is  in  progress  today,  on  a  scale 
greatly  exceeding  that  of  the  past,  for  the  world,  as  measured  by  human  oc- 
cupancy, is  vastly  greater  than  of  old. 

5.  Scriptures  Relating  to  the  Apostasy.  That  the  application  of  the  scrip- 
tures cited  in  the  text  is  proof  of  the  predicted  apostasy  is  not  peculiar  to  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  is  shown  by  the  tact  that  these 
predictions  are  similarly  interpreted  by  theologians  of  other  churches.  Thus, 
in  his  "Bible  Commentary,"  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  annotates  Paul's  admonition 
to  Timothy  as  below.  First  note  the  passage:  "Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  ex- 
pressly, that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed 
^to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils;  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy;"  etc.  Dr. 
Clarke  says: 

" 'In  the  latter  times -.This  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  last  ages  of  the 
world;  but  any  times  consequent  (subsequent)  to  those  in  which  the  church 
then  lived." 

"Depart  from  the  faith'.  They  will  apostatize  from  the  faith,  i.  e.  from 
Christianity,  renouncing  the  whole  system  in  effect  by  bringing  in  doctrines 
which  render  its  essential  truths  null  and  void;  or  denying  and  denouncing  such 
doctrines  as  are  essential  to  Christianity  as  a  system  of  salvation.  A  man  may 
hold  all  the  truths  of  Christianity,  and  yet  render  them  of  none  effect,  by  hold- 
ing other  doctrines,  which  counteract  their  influence;  or  he  may  apostatize  by 
denying  some  essential  doctrine,  though  he  bring  in  nothing  heterodox." 

"Speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy:  Persons  pretending  not  only  to  divine  in- 
spiration, but  also  to  extraordinary  degrees  of  holiness,  self-denial,  mortifica- 
tion, etc.,  in  order  to  credit  the  lies  and  false  doctrines  which  they  taught.  Mul- 
titudes of  lies  were  framed  concerning  miracles  wrought  by  the  relics  of  departed 
saints  as  they  were  termed." 


EARLY  STAGES.  33 

CHAPTER  III. 
Early  Stages  of  the  Apostasy. 

1.  As  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter  a  general  apostasy 
from  the  Primitive  Church  was  both  foreseen  and  foretold. 
Prophet  who  lived  centuries  before  the  time  of  Christ  predicted 
the  great  event,  as  did  also  the  Savior  Himself  and  the  apostles 
who  continued  the  work  of  the  ministry  after  His  resurrection 
and  ascension.    We  are  now  to  inquire  as  to  the  fulfillment  of 
these    predictions. 

2.  Evidence  that  the  apostasy  occurred  as  had  been  pre- 
dicted is  found  in  the  sacred  scriptures  and  in  the  records  of 
history  other  than  scriptural.    From  certain  utterances  of  the 
early-day  apostles  it  is  made  plain  to  us  that  the  great  ' 'falling 
away"  had  begun  even  while  those  apostles  were  living.     The 
preachinlfoTfalse  doctrines  and  the  rise  of  unauthorized  teachers 
were  referred  to  as  conditions  then  actually  existing  in  the 
Church,  and  not  as  remote  developments  of  the  distant  future. 
—  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 

3.  Scarcely  had  the  gospel  seed  been  committed  to  the 
soil  before  the  enemy  came,  and  by  night  sowed  tares  amongst 
the  wheat;  and  so  intimate  was  the  growth. of  the  two  that  any 
attempt  to  forcibly  uproot  the  weeds  would  have  threatened 
the  life  of  the  grain. —  (Study  the  parable  of  wheat  and  tares, 
Matt.  13 :24-30.    See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter. ) 

Paul  recognized  the  fact  that  the  people  amongst  whom 
he  labored  were  losing  the  faith  they  had  professed,  and  were 
becoming  victims  of  the  deception  practiced  by  false  teachers. 
In  his  letter  to  the  churches  of  Galatia  he  wrote:  "I  marvel  that 
ye  are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called  you  into  the  grace  of 
Christ  unto  another  gospel: Which  is  not  another;  but  there  be 
some  that  trouble  you,  and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ." 
And  then,  to  emphasize  the  sin  of  those  who  thus  sought  to 
"pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ,"  he  continued:  "But  though  we, 
or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you 
than  that  which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed. 
As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  again,  If  any  man  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let  him  be  ac- 
cursed."—  (Galatians  1:6-9;  read  the  •  entire  chapter.  See 
Note  3,  end  of  chapter.) 


(]M 


34 


THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 


5.  Thelcontext  of  the  passages  just  quoted  shows  the  nature 
of  the  error  pnto  which  "the  churches  of  Galatia"  were  in  danger 
of  falling.  (They  were  embroiled  in  a  discussion  as  to  whether 
they  were  bound  by  certain  requirements  of  the  law  oLMoses. 
notably  that  respecting  circumcision.  The  apostle  instructs 
them  to  the  effect  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  superior  to  the 
law;  and  that,  moreover,  they  were  inconsistent  in  contending 
for  one  item  of  the  law  and  neglecting  the  rest.  We  have  here 
indication/of  the  effort  so  persisted  in  even  by  those  who  had 
joined  the;  Church,  to  modify  and  change  the  simple  require- 


ments of 


/the  gospel  by  introducing  the  elements  nf 


It  must  be  remembered  that  even  among  the  apostles  some  dif- 
ference  oi  opinion  had  existed  as  to  the  necessity  of  circumcision; 
but  this  had  been  settled  by  their  prayerful  efforts  to  learn  the 


1  in  the  matter;  and  those  who  sought  to  foment 
on  this  or  any  other  matter  of  authoritative  doctrine 
red  to  be  enemies  to  the  Church,  seeking  to  "pervert 
of  Christ." 
his  second  epistle  to  the  "church  of  the  Thessalon- 


Lord's  w 
dissensioi 
were  decl 
the  gosp 

6.  In 

ians"  Pau  declares  that  the  spirit  of  iniquity  was  then  already 
operative  \  After  predicting  the  rise  of  the  apostate  church, 
with  its  blasphemous  assumptions  of  power,  as  a  condition 
antecedent  \othe  second  coming  of  Christ,  the  apostle  continued 
as  follows:  '^Tpr-tfae  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work^ 
only  he  who  now  ietteth  wilHet  until  he  be  taken  out  o±  the' 
way.  And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord 
shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy 
with  the  brightness  of  his  coming." — (II  Thess.  2:7,  8.) 

7.  The  seemingly  obscure  expression,  "he  who  now  letteth 
will  let,"  may  be  more  readily  understood  by  remembering  that 
in  the  older  style  of  English  "let  had  the  meaning  of  "restrain" 
or  "hinder." — (An  example  of  this  old-time  use  of  the  verb 
"let"  is  found  in  Shakespeare^  Hamlet  is  made  to  say,  "Un- 
hand me,  gentlemen.    By  heaven  I'll  make  a  ghost  of  him  who 
lets  me."  i.  e.,  of  him  who  restrains  or  hinders  me.)     The  pas- 
sage therefore  may  be  understood  as  a  declaration  that  the 
spirit  of  iniquity  was  already  active  though  restrained  or  hin- 
dered for  a  time;  and  that  later  even  this  restraint  would  be 
removed  and  the  evil  -one  would  be  in  power.    In  the  Revised 
Version  of  the  New  Testament  this  passage  is  rendered  thus: 


EARLY  ST^s.  35 


—  "lawlessness   doth  .-already   work:   only   there   is   one   that 
restraineth  now,  imttL^e-be  taken  out  of  the  way." 

8.  Just  who  or^what  is  referred  to  as  exercising  a  restraint 
on  the  powers  of  iniquity  at  that  time  has  given  rise  to  dis- 
cussion.    Some  writers  hold  that  the  presence  of  the  apostles 
operated  in  this  way,  while  others  believe  that  the  restraining 
power  of  the  Roman  government  is  referred  to.    It  is  known  that 
the  Roman  policy  was  to  discountenance  religious  contention, 
and  to  allow  a  large  measure  of  liberty  in  forms  of  worship  as 
long  as  the  gods  of  Rome  were  not  maligned  nor  their  shrines 
dishonored.     As  Roman  supremacy  declined  "the  mystery  of 
iniquity"embodied  in  the  apostate  church  operated  practicall 
without    restraint. 

9.  The  expression  "mystery  of  iniquity"  as  used  by  Pau 
is  significant.  —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.  )    Prominent  among 
the  early  perverters  of  the  Christian  faith  were  those  who 
assailed  its  simplicity  and  lack  of  exclusiveness.    This  simplicity 
was  so  different  from  the  mysteries  of  Judaism  and  the  myster- 
ious rites  of  heathen  idolatry  as  to  be  disappointing  to  many;  and 
the  earliest  changes  in  the  Christian  form  of  worship  were 
marked  by  the  introduction  of  mystic_cerempnies. 

10.  Paul's  zeal  as  a  missionary  and  a  proselyter  is  abun- 
dantly shown  in  scripture;  he  was  equally  zealous  in  seeking  to 
maintain  the  faith  of  those  who  had  accepted  the  truth.    The 
Pauline  epistles  abound  in  admonitions  and  pleadings  against 
the  increasing  influence  of  false  doctrines,  and  in  expressions 
of  sorrow  over  the  growth  of  apostasy  in  the  Church.     His 
words  addressed  to  Timothy  are  both  emphatic  and  pathetic. 

'Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  thou  hast  heard  of 
|  me,  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  That  good  thing 
which  was  committed  unto  thee  keep  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
dwelleth  _in  _us.  This  thou  knowest,  that  all  they  which  are  in 
Asia  be  Turned  away  from  me."  —  (II  Timothy  1:13-15;  italics 
introduced;  compare  4:10,  16.) 

11.  An  excellent  summary  of  important  utterances  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  relating  to  the  beginning  of  the  apostasy  as  a  fact 
in  the  early  apostolic  age,  has  been  made  by  one  of  the  latter- 
day  apostles,  Orson  Pratt.     He  writes  as  follows:  "The  great 
apostasy  of  the  Christian  Church  commenced  in  the  first  cen- 
tury; while  there  were  yet  inspired  apostles  and  prophets  in 


THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

midst;  hence  Paul,  just  previous  to  his  martyrdom,  enum- 
erates a  great  number  who  had  'made  shipwreck  of  their 
faith,'  and  'turned  aside  unto  vain  jangling;'  teaching  'that  the 
resurrection  was  already  past,'  'giving  heed  to  fables  and  endless 
genealogies^  'doubting  about  questions  and  strifes  of  words 


whereof  came  envyings,  railings,  evil  surmisings,  perverse  dis- 
putings  of  men  of  corrupt  minds  and  destitute  of  the  truth, 
supposing  that  gain  is  godliness.'  This  apostasy  had  become  so 
general  that  Paul  declares  to  Timothy,  'that  all  they  which  are 
in  Asia  be  turned  away  from  me;'  and  again  he  says,  'at  my 
first  answer  no  man  stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook  me;' 
he  further  says  that  'there  are  many  unruly ;  and  vain  talkers 
and  deceivers,  teaching  things  which  they  ought  not,  for  filthy 
lucre's  sake.'  These  apostates,  no  doubt,  pretended  to  be  very 
righteous;  for,  says  the  apostle,  'they  profess  that  they  know 
God;  but  in  works  they  deny  him,  being  abominable,  and  dis- 
obedient, and  unto  every  good  work  reprobate.'  ' 

12.  Jude   admonished  the   saints   to   be   on   their   guard 
nst  men  who  were  in  the  service  of  Satan  seeking  to  corrupt 

the  Church.  Addressing  himself  "to  them  that  are  sanctified 
by  God  the  Father,  and  preserved  in  Jesus  Christ,"  he  said: 
It  was  needful  for  me  to  write  unto  you,  and  exhort  you  that 
ye  should  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith  which  was  once  de- 
livered unto  the  saints.  For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in  un- 
awares,  who  were  before  of  old  ordained  to  this  condemnation, 
•ungodbs  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into  lasciviousness, 
and  denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
—  (Jude  3,  4.  See  Note  5,  end  of  chapter.)  It  is  plain 
that  Jude  considered  "the  faith  which  was  once  delivered 
unto  the  saints"  as  in  danger;  and  he  urges  the  faithful  to  con- 
tend for  it  and  openly  defend  it.  He  reminds  the  saints  that 
they  had  been  told  "there  should  be  mockers  in  the  last  time, 
who  should  walk  after  their  own  ungodly  lusts;"  and  adds 
"These  be  they  who  separate  themselves,  sensual,  having  not 
the  Spirit."— (Verses  18,  19.)  Clearly  he  is  referring  to  the 
apostates  of  such  time,  who,  because  of  sensual  appetites  and 
lustful  desires,  have  separated  themselves  from  the  Church. 

13.  During  the  banishment  of  John  the  Revelator  on  the 
Isle  of  Patmos,  when  nearly  all  the  apostles  had  been  taken 
from  the  earth,  many  of  them  having  suffered  martrydom,  the 


EARLY  STAGES.  37 

apostasy  was  so  widespread  that  only  seven  "churches,"  i.  e., 
branches  of  the  Church,  remained  in  such  condition  as  to  be 
considered  deserving  of  the  special  communication  John  was 
instructed  to  give.  In  a  marvelous  vision  he  beheld  the  seven 
churches  typified  by  seven  golden  candlesticks,  with  seven 
stars  representing  the  presiding  officers  of  the  several  churches; 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  golden  .candlesticks,  with  the  stars  in 
his  hand,  stood  "one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man." 

14.  The  church  at  Ephesus  was  approved  for  its  good 
works,  specifically  for  its  rejection  of  the  yicolaitean  heresies; 
nevertheless  reproof  was  administered  for  disaffection  and  neg- 
lect, thus: — "thou  hast  left  thy  first  love.    Remember  therefore 
from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works; 
or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy  can- 
dlestick out  of  his  place,  except  thou  repent." — (Rev.  2:4,5.) 

15.  To  the  church  at  Pergamos  John  was  commanded  to 
write,  denouncing  the  false  doctrines  of  certain  sects  and  teach- 
ers, "which  thing  I  hate,"  said  the  Lord. —  (See  verses  12-16.) 
The  church  of  the  Laodiceans  was  denounced  as  "lukewarm," 
"neither  hot  nor  cold,"  and  as  priding  itself  as  rich  and  not  in 
need,  whereas  it  was  in  reality  "wretched,  and  miserable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked." — (Rev.  3;  see  verses  14-21.) 

16.  The  foregoing  scriptures  are  ample  as  proof  that  even 
before  the  ancient  apostles  had  finished  their  earthly  ministry, 
apostasy  was  growing   apace.      The  testimony   of  the   early 

Christian  fathers"  who  wrote  in  the  period  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  passing  of  the  apostles,  is  to  the  same  effect.  Ac- 
cording to  the  generally  accepted  chronology,  the  prophetic 
message  of  John  the  Revelator  to  the  churches  of  Asia  was 
given  in  the  last  years  of  the  first  century. —  (Probably  about 
A.  D.  96;  see  Oxford  Bible,  margin.) 

17.  Among  the  historians  of  that  period  whose  writings  are 
not  regarded  as  canonical  or  scriptural,  but  which  are  never- 
theless accepted  as  genuine  and  reliable,  was  Hegesippus,  who 
"flourished  nearest  the  days  of  the  apostles."     Writing  of  the 
conditions  marking  the  close  of  the  first  century  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  second,  _EllSfiiuus  cites  the  testimony  of  the 
earlier   writer   as   follows: — "The   same   author,    [Hegesippus] 
relating  the  events  of  the  times,  also  says,  that  the  Church 
continued  until  then  as  a  pure  and  uncorrupt  virgin;  whilst  if 


put 

]    bef 
£_apc 


38  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

there  were  any  at  all  that  attempted  to  pervert  the  sound  doc- 
trine of  the  saving  gospel,  they  were  yet  skulking  in  dark  re- 
treats; but  when  the  sacred  choir  of  apostles  became  extinct, 
and  the  generation  of  those  that  had  been  privileged  to  hear 
their  inspired  wisdom  had  passed  away,  then  also  the  combina- 
tions of  impious  error  arose  by  the  fraud  and  delusions  of  false 
teachers.  These  also,  as  there  were  none  of  the  apostles  left, 
henceforth  attempted,  without  shame  to  preach  their  false 
doctrine  against  the  gospel  of  truth.  Such  is  the  statement 
of  Hegesippus." — (Eusebius,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book 
III,  chapter  32.) 

18.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  false  teachers  referred 
in  the  testimony  last  cited,  were  professed  adherents  of  the 

Church,  and  not  outside  opponents,  inasmuch  as  they  were  re- 
strained by  the  influence  and  authority  of  the  apostles,  and 
waited  the  passing  of  the  authorized  leaders  as  an  opportunity 
to  corrupt  the  Church  by  evil  teachings. 

19.  A  later  writer,  commenting  on  the  schisms  and  dissen- 
sions by  which  the  Church  was  rent  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
first  century — the  period  immediately  following  that  of  the 
apostolic  ministry,  says:  "It  will  easily ^be  imagined  that  unity 
and  peace  could  not  reign  long  in  the  Church,  since  it  was  com- 
posed of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  who  regarded  each  other  with  the 

jf      bitterest  aversion.     Besides,  as  the  converts  to  Christianity 

*  *    could  not  extirpate  radically  the  prejudices  which  had  been 

^/^  formed  in  their  minds  by  education,  and  confirmed  by  time, 

f       they  brought  with  them  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church  more  or 

\  less  of  the  prrprg  njMJTpir^fnrrTTP^  Thus  the  seeds  of 

discord  and  controversy  were  easily  sown,  and  could  not  fail  to 
spring  up  soon  into  animosities  and  dissensions,  which  accord- 
ingly broke  out  and  divided  the  Church." — (Mosheim,  "Eccl. 
History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  II;  chap.  3:11.  See  Note  4,  end  of 
chapter. ) 

20.  Another  recognized  authority  on  ecclesiastical  history, 
and  one  whose  avowed  purpose  was  to  present  the  truth  re- 
specting the  Church  in  its  most  favorable  light,  is  Joseph  Milner., 
author  of  a  comprehensive  "History  of  the  Churcrf^xF  Christ. 
He  comments  on  the  state  of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the 
first  century  in  this  wise:  "Let  us  keep  in  view  what  that 
[the  spirit  of  the  gospel]  really  is.    The  simple  faith  of  Christ 


EARLY  STAGES.  39 

as  the  only  Savior  of  lost  sinners,  and  the  effectual  influences 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  recovering  souls  altogether  depraved  by 
sin — these  are  the  leading  ideas.  When  the  effusion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  first  took  place,  these  things  were  taught  with  power; 
and  no  sentiments  which  militated  against  them  could  be  sup- 
ported for  a  moment.  As,  through  the  prevalence  of  human 
corruption  and  the  crafts  of  Satan,  the  love  of  truth  was 
lessened,  heresies  and  various  abuses  of  the  gospel  appeared; 
and  in  estimating  them  we  may  form  some  idea  of  the  de- 
clension of  true  religion  toward  the  end  of  the  [first]  century." 
The  same  writer  continues:  "Yet  a  gloomy  cloud  hung  over 
the  conclusion  of  the  first  century.  The  first  impressions 
made  by  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit  are  generally  the  strongest 
and  the  most  decisively  distinct  from  the  spirit  of  the  world. 
But  human  depravity,  overborne  for  a  time,  arises  afresh, 
particularly  in  the  next  generation.  Hence  the  disorders  of 
schism  and  heresy.  Their  tendency  is  to  destroy  the  pure  work 
of  God."— (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  I,  ch.  15.) 

21.  The  purpose  of  this  chapter  has  been  that  of  demon- 
strating the  early  beginning  of  the  apostasy,  so  soon  to  become 
general,  and  later,  universal.    The  specific  causes  directly  con- 
tributing to  the  degradation  of  the  Church,  are  reserved  for 
future   consideration. 

The  Growth  of  Apostasy  on  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

22.  Now  let  us  see  what  was  the  condition  of  the  Church 
established  by  the  Resurrected  Lord  among  the  descendants  of 
Lehi  on  the  American  Continent.    In  this  undertaking  we  shall 
not  restrict  ourselves  to  the  beginning  of  the  disruption  alone. 
Inasmuch  as  the  course  of  apostasy  among  the  Nephites  was  so 
rapid,  and  the  period  intervening  between  the  establishment  of 
the  Church  and  the  destruction  of  the  nation  was  so  brief,  we 
shall  consider  the  history  of  the  Church  to  its  close,  and  thus 
obviate  the  necessity  of  recurring  to  the  subject  in  later  chapters. 
We  read  that  the  Church  had  prospered  until  about  200  A.  D. 
Then  apostasy  became  general,  as  evidence  of  which  note  the 
following: 

23.  "And  now  in  this  two  hundred  and  first  year,  there 
began  to  be  among  them  those  who  were  lifted  up  in  pride. 

*  *  *  And  they  began  to  be  divided  into  classes,  and  they  began 


40  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

to  build  up  churches  unto  themselves,  to  get  gain,  and  began  to 
deny  the  true  Church  of  Christ.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when 
two  hundred  and  ten  years  had  passed  away  there  were  many 
churches  in  the  land;  yea,  there  were  many  churches  which  pro- 
fessed to  know  the  Christ,  and  yet  they  did  deny  the  more 
parts  of  his  gospel,  insomuch  that  they  did  receive  all  manner 
of  wickedness,  and  did  administer  that  which  was  sacred  unto 
him  to  whom  it  had  been  forbidden,  because  of  unworthiness. 
And  this  church  did  multiply  exceedingly,  because  of  iniquity, 
and  because  of  the  power  of  Satan,  who  did  get  hold  upon  their 
hearts.  And  again,  there  was  another  church  which  denied  the 
Christ;  and  they  did  persecute  the  true  Church  of  Christ  be- 
cause of  their  humility,  and  their  belief  in  Christ;  and  they  did 
despise  them  because  of  the  many  miracles  which  were  wrought 
among  them." — (IV  Nephi  1:24-29;  read  the  entire  chapter.) 

24.  The  Book  of  Mormon  record  is  definite  in  its  specifica- 
tions of  the  immediate  reasons  for,  or  causes  of  the  great  aposta- 
sy on  the  western  hemisphere.  While  the  members  of  the  Church 
remained  faithful  to  their  covenants  and  obligations,  they  as  in- 
dividuals and  the  Church  as  an  organization  prospered;  and 
their    enemies    were    unable  to  prevail  against  them.     With 
prosperity,   however,   came  pride  and  class  distinctions,   the 
rich  dominated  the  poor,  and  earthly  gain  became  the  object 
of  life. —  (See  IV  Nephi  1:2-7  and  compare  with  verses  25,  26.) 
Secret  organizations  of  evil  purpose  flourished, —  (Verse  42.) 
the  people  were  divided  into  two  opposing  factions,  those  who 
still  professed  a  belief  in  Christ  being  known  as  Nephites  and 
their  enemies  as  Lamanites,  without  regard  to  actual  descent  or 
family  relationship.    With  the  growth  of  pride  and  its  attendant 
sins,  the  Nephites  became  as  wicked  as  the  non-professing 
Lamanites; — (Verse  45.)  and  in  their  wickedness  these  people 
sought  each  other's  destruction.    Consider  the  pathos  and  dire 
tragedy  expressed  in  the  words  of  Moroni,  the  solitary  survivor 
of  a  once  blessed  and  mighty  nation: 

25.  "Behold,  four  hundred  years  have  passed  away  since 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  and  Savior.    And  behold,  the  Laman- 
ites have  hunted  my  people,  the  Nephites,  down  from  city  to 
city,  and  from  place  to  place,  even  until  they  are  no  more; 
and  great  has  been  their  fall;  yea,  great  and  marvelous  is  the 
destruction  of  my  people,  the  Nephites.    And  behold,  it  is  the 


NOTES.  41 

hand  of  the  Lord  which  hath  done  it.  And  behold  also,  the 
Lamanites  are  at  war  one  with  another;  and  the  whole  face  of 
this  land  is  one  continual  round  of  murder  and  bloodshed; 
and  no  one  knoweth  the  end  of  the  war.  And  now  behold,  I 
say  no  more  concerning  them,  for  there  are  none,  save  it  be  the 
Lamanites  and  robbers  that  do  exist  upon  the  face  of  the.  land; 
and  there  are  none  that  do  know  the  true  God,  save  it  be  the 
disciples  of  Jesus, —  (See  III  Nephi  28:1-7.)  who  did  tarry 
in  the  land  until  the  wickedness  of  the  people  was  so  great,  that 
the  Lord  would  not  suffer  them  to  remain  with  the  people;  and 
whether  they  be  upon  the  face  of  the  land  no  man  knoweth."- 
(Mormon  8:6-10.) 

NOTES. 

1.  The  Early  Apostasy  Recognized.    The  fact  of  the  early  beginning  of  the 
apostasy  is  generally  recognized  by  theologians  and  authorities  on  biblical 
interpretation.     Clarke's  commentary  on  the  declaration  of  Paul  as  to  the 
"mystery  of  iniquity"  then  at  work  (See  II  Thess.  2:7)  is  as  follows: 

"For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work:  There  is  a  system  of  cor- 
rupt doctrine  which  will  lead  to  the  general  apostasy,  already  in  existence ;  but 
it  is  a  mystery;  it  is  as  yet  hidden;  it  dare  not  show  itself  because  of  that  which 
hindereth  or  withholdeth.  But  when  that  which  now  restraineth  is  taken  out 
of  the  way,  then  shall  that  wicked  one  be  revealed;  it  will  then  be  manifest  who 
he  is  and  what  he  is." 

2.  Early  Dissensions  in  the  Church.    As  instances  of  the  disagreements  and 
differences  that  troubled  and  disturbed  the  Church  even  in  apostolic  days 
Mosheim  says:  "The  first  of  these  controversies,  which  was  set  on  foot  in  the 
church  of  Antioch,  regarded  the  necessity  of  observing  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
its  issue  is  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (chap.  15).    This 
controversy  was  followed  by  many  others,  either  with  the  Jews  who  were 
violently  attached  to  the  worship  of  their  ancestors,  or  with  the  votaries  of  a 
wild  and  fanatical  sort  of  philosophy,  or  with  such  as,  mistaking  the  true 
genius  of  the  Christian  religion,  abused  it  monstrously  to  the  encouragement  of 
their  vices,  and  their  indulgence  of  the  appetites  and  passions.    St.  Paul  and 
the  other  apostles  have  in  several  places  of  their  writings,  mentioned  these 
controversies,  but  with  such  brevity  that  it  is  difficult  at  this  distance  of  time 
to  come  at  the  true  state  of  the  question  in  these  various  disputes.    The  most 
weighty  and  important  of  all  these  controversies  was  that  which  certain  Jewish 
doctors  raised  at  Rome,  and  in  other  Christian  Churches  concerning  the  means 
of  justification  and  acceptance  with  God,  and  the  method  of  salvation  pointed 
out  in  the  word  of  God.    The  apostles,  wherever  they  exercised  their  ministry, 
had  constantly  declared  all  hopes  of  acceptance  and  salvation  delusive,  except 
such  as  were>  founded  on  Jesus  the  Redeemer,  and  His  all-sufficient  merits; 
while  the  Jewish  doctors  maintained  the  works  of  the  law  to  be  the  true  efficient 
cause  of  the  soul's  eternal  salvation  and  felicity.     This  latter  sentiment  not 
t-nly  led  to  many  other  errors  extremely  prejudicial  to  Christianity  £but  was 


42  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

also  injurious  to  the  glory  of  the  divine  Savior." — (Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical 
History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  II,  11-12.) 

3.  Unauthorized  Writings  in  the  Apostolic  Age.    Paul's  reference  to  "an- 
other gospel"  in  his  epistle  to  the  Galatians  (1:6)  suggested  to  Dr.  Adam  Clarke 
the  following  commentary  on  the  passage: 

"Another  gospel:  It  is  certain  that  in  the  very  earliest  ages  of  the  Christian 
Church,  there  were  several  spurious  gospels  in  circulation;  and  it  was  the  mul- 
titude of  these  false  or  inaccurate  relations  that  induced  St.  Luke  to  write  his 
own  (see  Luke  1 :1 ).  We  have  the  names  of  more  than  seventy  of  these  spurious 
narratives  still  on  record,  and  in  ancient  writers  many  fragments  of  them  re- 
main; these  have  been  collected  and  published  by  Fabricius  in  his  account  of 
the  apocryphal  books  of  the  New  Testament  (3  vols,  8  vo.)  In  some  of  these 
gospels  the  necessity  of  circumcision  and  subjection  to  the  Mosaic  law,  in 
unity  with  the  gospel,  were  strongly  inculcated." — (Clarke,  "Bible  Commen- 
tary.") 

4.  Some  Authorities  on  Ecclesiastical  History.     Among   the   authorities 
cited  in  the  text  are  those  named  below.    A  brief  note  as  to  each  may  be  of 
interest. 

Eusebius:  Eusebius  Pamphilus,  bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Palestine.  He  lived 
from  about  260  to  about  339  A.  D.,  though  there  is  some  uncertainty  as  to  the 
exact  time  of  his  death.  He  was  an  eye  witness  of  and  a  participant  in  some  of 
the  sufferings  incident  to  heathen  persecution  of  the  Christians,  and  has  been 
called  the  "Father  of  Church  History."  He  was  the  author  of  several  works, 
among  them  one  of  the  earliest  on  "Ecclesiastical  History."  The  quotations 
from  this  work  by  Eusebius,  as  given  in  the  text,  are  from  the  version  translated 
from  the  Greek  by  C.  F.  Cruse. 

Mosheim:  Dr.  J.  L.  von  Mosheim,  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Got- 
tingen;  a  German  writer,  noted  for  his  contributions  to  church  history.  He  is 
the  author  of  an  exhaustive  work  on  "Ecclesiastical  History"  (6  vols.),  dated 
1755.  The  excerpts  from  Mosheim's  "Ecclesiastical  History"  given  in  the  text 
are  taken  from  the  version  translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Archibald  Maclaine, 
.dated  1764. 

Milner:  Rev.  Joseph  Milner.  An  English  authority  on  church  history, 
and  author  of  a  comprehensive  "History  of  the  Church  of  Christ"  (5  vols.) 
from  which  the  excerpts  in  the  text  are  taken. 

5.  Commentary  on  the  Passage  from    Jude: — The  passage  quoted  in  the 
text — "For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in  unawares,  who  were  before  of  old  or- 
dained to  this  condemnation,   ungodly   men."  etc.     (Jude  4),  has  given  rise  to 
discussion,  the  question  at  issue  being  as  to  whether  the  principles  of  pre-ap- 
pointment  or  fore-ordination  is  here  involved.    A  hasty  and  casual  reading  of 
the  passage  may  suggest  the  inference  that  the  "ungodly  men"  referred  to  had 
been  appointed  or  "ordained"  in  the  providence  of  God  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dis- 
cord and  dissension  in  the  Church.    A  careful  study  of  this  scripture  shows  that 
no  such  inference  is  warranted.    The  "ungodly  men"  "who  were  before  of  old 
ordained  to  this  condemnation"  were  men  who  had  already,  i.  e.,  previously, 
been  denounced,  proscribed  and  condemned  for  the  very  heresies  which  now 
they  were  endeavoring  to  perpetuate  in  the  Church,  they  having  crept  in  un- 
awares, or  in  other  words,  they  having  become  members  of  the  Church  by  false 


EXTERNAL  CAUSES.  43 

pretenses  and  profession,  and  being  able  because  of  their  membership,  to  spread 
their  false  teachings  more  effectively.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in  his  Bible  Com- 
mentary, thus  treats  the  passage  under  consideration: 

"For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in  unawares."  They  have  got  into  the 
church  under  specious  pretenses,  and  when  in,  began  to  sow  their  bad  seed. 

"Before  of  old  ordained:  Such  as  were  long  ago  proscribed  and  condemned 
in  the  most  public  manner;  this  is  the  import  of  the  [original]  word  in  £his 
place,  and  there  are  many  examples  of  this  use  of  it  in  the  Greek  writers." 

"To  this  condemnation:  To  a  similar  punishment  to  that  about  to  be  men- 
tioned. 

"In  the  sacred  writings  all  such  persons,  false  doctrines  and  impure  prac- 
tices have  been  most  openly  proscribed  and  condemned,  and  the  apostle  im- 
mediately produces  several  examples,  viz.,  the  disobedient  Israelites,  the  un- 
faithful angels,  and  the  impure  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  This  is 
most  obviously  the  apostle's  meaning,  and  it  is  as  ridiculous  as  it  is  absurd,  to 
look  into  such  words  for  a  decree  of  reprobation,  etc.,  such  a  doctrine  being  as 
far  from  the  apostle's  mind  as  from  that  of  Him  in  whose  name  he  wrote." — 
(Clarke,  "Bible  Commentary,"  Jude  4.) 

In  the  Revised  Version.of  the  New  Testament  the  passage  is  rendered  thus: 
"I  was  constrained  to  write  unto  you  exhorting  you  to  contend  earnestly  for 
the  faith  which  was  once  for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints.  For  there  are  cer- 
tain men  crept  in  privily,  even  they  who  were  of  old  set  forth  unto  this  con- 
demnation, ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  pur  God  into  lasciviousness,  and 
denying  our  only  Master  and  Lord,  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Causes  of  the  Apostasy. — External  Causes  Considered. 

1.  We  are  now  to  consider  some  of  the  principal  causes  con- 
tributing to  apostasy  from  the  Primitive  Church  and  leading 
later  to  the  apostasy  of  the  Church  as  an  earthly  institution;  and 
we  are  to  study  the  manner  in  which  those  causes  have  operated. 

2.  In  the  scriptures  before  cited  as  proof  of  the  early  begin- 
ning of  the  apostasy,  many  of  the  contributing  causes  are  indi- 
cated, such  as  the  rise  of  false  teachers,  the  spread  of  heretical 
doctrines,  and  the  growth  of  the  power  of  Satan  in  general. 
These  may  be  classed  as  internal  causes,  originating  within  the 


44  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Church  itself.  In  contrast  with  these  there  were  other  condi- 
tions operating  upon  the  Church  from  without;  and  such  may  be 
classed  as  external  causes.  For  convenience  in  study  we  shall 
consider  the  subject  in  the  following  order  of  treatment:  (1) 
External  causes;  (2)  Internal  causes. 

External  Causes  of  the  Great  Apostasy. 

3.  External  conditions  operating  against  the  Church,  tend- 
ing to  restrict  its  development  and  contributing  to  its  decline 
may  be  designated  by  the  general  term,  persecution.     It  is  a 
matter  of  history,  undisputed  and  indisputable,  that  from  the 
time  of  its  inception  to  that  of  its  actual  cessation,  the  Church 
established  by  Jesus  Christ  was  the  object  of  bitter  persecu- 
tion, and  the  victim  of  violence.     The  question  as  to  whether 
persecution  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  element  tending  to  produce 
apostasy  is  worthy  of  present  consideration.    Opposition  is  not 
always  destructive;  on  the  contrary  it  may  contribute  to  growth. 
Persecution  may  impel  to  greater  zeal,  and  thus  prove  itself  a 
potent  factor  of  advancement.    A  proverb  still  in  favor  declares 
that  "the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church."    But 
proverbs  and  adages,  aphorisms  and  parables,  while  true  as 
generalities,  are  not  always  applicable  to  special  conditions. 

4.  Undoubtedly  the  persistent  persecution  to  which  the 
early  Church  was  subjected  caused  many  of  its  adherents  to  re- 
nounce the  faith  they  had  professed  and  to  return  to  their 
former    allegiances,    whether    Judaistic    or    pagan.      Church 
membership  was  thusjliminished ;  but  such  instances  of  apostasy" 
from  the  Church  may  be  regarded  as  individual  desertions  and 
of  comparatively  little  importance  in  its  effect  upon  the  Church 
as  a  body.    The  dangers  that  affrighted  some  would  arouse  the 
determination   of   others;  the   ranks    deserted   by   disaffected 
weaklings  would  be  replenished  by  zealous  converts.    Let  it  be 
repeated  that  apostasy  from  the  Church  is  insignificant  as  com- 
pared with  the  apostasy  of  the  church  as  an  institution.    Perse- 
cution as  a  cause  of  apostasy  has  operated  indirectly  but  none 
the  less  effectively  upon  the  Church  of  Christ. — -(See  Notes 

1  and  2,  end  of  chapter.) 

5.  We   have   considered   briefly   the   testimony   of   early 
church  historians  showing  that  schisms,  contention,  and  per- 
version of  doctrine  invaded  the  Church  immediately  after  the 


EXTERNAL  CAUSES.  45 

passing  of  the  apostles;  we  have  seen  how  wolves  had  awaited 
the  departure  of  the  shepherds  that  they  might  the  more 
effectively  worry  the  flock.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  early 
persecutions  were  directed  most  particularly  against  the  leaders 
of  the  people;  the  sharpest  shafts  were  aimed  against  the  officers 
of  the  Church.  In  the  fierce  battle  between  Christianity  and 
its  allied  foes  —  Judaism  and  heathendom  —  the  strong  men 
who  stood  for  Christ  were  the.  first  to  fall.  And  with  their 
fall,  the  traitors  within  the  Church,  the  ungodly  and  the  rebel- 
lious, those  who  had  crept  in  unawares,  and  whose  sinister 
purpose  it  was  to  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ,  were  relieved  of 
restraint,  and  found  themselves  free  to  propagate  their  heresies 
and  to  undermine  the  foundations  of  the  Church.  Persecution, 
operating  from  without,  and  therefore  essentially  an  external 
cause,  served  to  set  in  motion  the  enginery  of  disruption  with- 
in the  Church,  and  therefore  must  be  treated  as  an  effective 
element  contributing  to  the  great  apostasy. 

6.  A  further  purpose  in  introducing  here  a  brief  summary  of 
the  persecutions  of  which  the  early  Church  was  the  victim,  is 
that  of  affording  a  basis  of  ready  comparison  between  such  and 
the  persecutions  waged  by  the  apostate  church  itself  in  later 
centuries.     We  shall  find  that  the  sufferings  of  the  Church  in 
the  days  of  its  integrity,  are  surpassed  by  the  cruel  inflictions 
perpetrated  in  the  name  of  Christ.     Moreover,  a  study  of  the 
early  persecutions  will  enable  us  to  contrast  the  conditions 
of  opposition  and  poverty  with  those  of  ease  and  affluence  as 
affecting  the  integrity  of  the  Church  and  the  devotion  of  its 
adherents. 

7.  The  persecution  to  which  the  Primitive  Church  was  sub- 
jected was  two-fold;  viz.,  Judaistic  and  pagan.    It  must  be  re- 
membered  that  the  Jews  were  distinguished  from  all  other 
nations  of  antiquity  by  their  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  living 

The  rest  of  the  world  before  and  at  the  time  of  Christ  was 


^ 

idolatrous  and  pagan,  professedly  believing  in  a  host  of  deities, 
yet  with  no  recognition  of  a  Supreme  Being  as  a  living  personage. 
The  Jews  were  bitter  in  their  opposition  to  Christianity,  which 
they  regarded  as  a  rival  religion  to  their  own;  and  moreover, 
they  recognized  the  fact  that  if  Christianity  ever  came  to  be 
generally  accepted  as  the  truth,  their  nation  would  stand  con- 
victed of  having  put  to  death  the  Messiah. 


46  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Judaistic  Persecution. 

(See  Note  3,  end  of  Chapter.) 

8.  Opposition  to  Christianity  on  the  part  of  those  who  be- 
longed to  the  House  of  Israel  was  rather  Judaistic  than  Jewish. 
The  conflict  was  between  systems,  not  between  peoples  or 
nations.  Christ  was  a  Jew:  His  apostles  were  Jews,  and  the 
disciples  who  constituted  the  body  of  the  Church  at  its  establish- 
ment and  throughout  the  early  years  of  its  existence  were 
largely  Jews.  Our  Lord's  instructions  to  the  chosen  twelve  on 
their  first  missionary  tour  restricted  their  ministry  to  the 
House  of  Israel; — (See  Matt.  10:5,  6.)  and  when  the  time  was 
propitious  for  extending  the  privileges  of  the  gospel  to  the 
Gentiles,  a  miraculous  manifestation  was  necessary  to  convince 
the  apostles  that  such  extension  was  proper.— (See  Acts, 
v  chapters  10  and  11.)  The  Church  was  at  first  exclusively  and 
for  a  long  time  pre-eminently  Jewish  in  membership.  Judaism, 
the  religious  system  founded  on  the  law  of  Moses,  was  the 
great  enemy  of  Christianity.  When  therefore  we  read  of  the 
Jews  opposing  the  Church,  we  understand  that  Judaistic  Jews 
are  meant — defenders  of  Judaism  as  a  system,  upholders  of  the 
law  and  enemies  of  the  gospel.  With  this  explanation  of  the 
distinction  between  the  Jews  as  a  people  and  Judaism  as  a 
system  we  may  employ  the  terms  "Jews"  and  "Jewish"  accord- 
ing to  common  usage,  keeping  in  mind,  however,  the  true  signi- 
fication of  the  terms. 

9.  Judaistic  opposition  to  the  Church  was  predicted.  While 
Jesus  ministered  in  the  flesh  He  specifically  and  repeatedly 
warned  the  apostles  of  the  persecution  they  would  have  to  meet. 
In  answering  certain  inquiries  Christ  said  to  Peter  and  others: 
"But  take  heed  to  yourselves:  for  they  shall  deliver  you  up  to 

/  councils,  and  in  the  synagogues  ye  shall  be  beaten:  and  ye  shall 
be  brought  before  rulers  and  kings  for  my  sake,  for  a  testimony 
against  them."— (Mark  13:9;  compare  Matt.  10:16-18;  24: 
9-13;  Luke  21:12.) 

10.  Shortly  before   His  betrayal  the  Lord  repeated  the 
warning  with  solemn  impressiveness,   citing  the  persecutions 
to  which  He  had  been  subject,  and  declaring  that  His  disciples 
could  not  escape:  "If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it 
hated  me  before  it  hated  you.  If  ye  were  of  the  world  the  world 


(W-^X^lxO^- 

JUDAISTIC  PERSECUTION.  47 

would  love  his  own;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but 
I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world  hateth 
you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  The  servant 
is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  me  they 
will  also  persecute  you." — (John  15:18-20.) 

11.  The  extreme  of  depravity  to  which  the  bigoted  persecu- 
tors would  sink  is  set  forth  in  these  further  words  of  the  Savior: 
"They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues:  yea,  the   time     * 
cometh,  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth 
God  service.    And  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you,  because      ™ 
they  have  not  known  the  Father,  nor  me." — (John  16:2,  3; 
compare  9:22,  and  12:42.) 

12.  These  predictions  had  speedy  and  literal  fulfilment. 
From  the  time  of  the  crucifixion,  Jewish  malignity  and  hatred 
were  directed  against  all  who  professed  a  belief  in  the  divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ.    In  the  early  stages  of  their  ministry  several  of 
the  apostles  were  imprisoned — (Acts  5:18;  compare  4:3.)  and 
the  priestly  leaders  sought  to  take  their  lives. —  (Acts  5:33.) 

_Stephen  was  stoned  to  death  because  of  his  testimony; — (See 
Acts  6:8-15;  7:54-60.)  and  the  persecution  against  the  Church 
became  general. —  (See  Acts  8:1.)  James,  the  son  of  Zebedee, 
was  slain  by  order  of  Herod, —  (Acts~l2:l,  2.)  and  Peter  was 
saved  from  a  similar  fate  only  by  a  miraculous  intervention.— 
(Verses  3:10.)  The  scriptural  record  informs  us  as  to  the  ulti- 
mate fate  of  but  few  of  the  apostles;  and  secular  history  is 
likewise  incomplete.  That  Peter  would  be  numbered  with  the 
martyrs  was  made  known  by  the  resurrected  Lord. —  (See 
John  21:18,  19.)  Paul  sets  forth  the  fact  that  the  apostles 
lived  in  the  very  shadow  of  death — (I  Cor.  4:9.)  and  that 
persecution  was  their  heritage. —  (Verses  11-13;  see  also  II  Cor. 
4:8,  9;  6:4,  5.) 

13.  Not   only   did  the  Jews  wage  relentless  persecution 
against  those  of  their  number  who  professed  Christ,  but  they 
sought  to  stir  up  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Romans,  and  to 
accomplish  this  end  charged  that  the  Christians  were  plotting 
treason  against  the   Roman  government.     Even  during  the 
personal  ministry  of  the  early  apostles,  persecution  of  the  saints 
had  spread  from  Jerusalem,  throughout  Palestine  and  into  the 
adjacent  provinces.     In  this  evil  work  the  Jews  sought  to  in- 
cite their  own  people  living  in  the  outlying  parts,  and  also  to 


48  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

arouse  the  opposition  of  the  officers  and  rulers  of  the  Roman 
dominions.  As  evidence  of  this  phase  of  the  persecution, 
partly  Jewish  and  partly  pagan,  instigated  by  Jews  and  partic- 
ipated in  by  others,  the  following  quotation  from  Mosheim 
may  suffice: 


14.  "The  Jews  who  lived  out  of  Palestine,  in  the  Roman 
^provinces,   did  not  yield  to  those  of  Jerusalem  in  point  of 

Cruelty  to  the  innocent  disciples  of  Christ.  We  learn  from  the 
history  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  other  records  of  un- 
questionable authority,  that  they  spared  no  labor,  but  zealous- 
ly seized  every  occasion  of  animating  the  magistrates  against 
the  Christians,  and  setting  on  the  multitude  to  demand  their 
destruction.  The  high  priest  of  the  nation  and  the  Jews  who 
dwelt  in  Palestine  were  instrumental  in  inciting  the  rage  of 
these  foreign  Jews  against  the  infant  Church,  by  sending 
messengers  to  exhort  them,  not  only  to  avoid  all  intercourse 
with  the  Christians,  but  also  to  persecute  them  in  the  most 
vehement  manner.  For  this  inhuman  order  they  endeavored  to 
find  out  the  most  plausible  pretexts; and  therefore, they  gave  out, 
that  the  Christians  were  enemies  to  the  Roman  emperor, 
since  they  acknowledged  the  authority  of  a  certain  person  whose 
name  was  Jesus,  whom  Pilate  had  punished  capitally  as  a  male- 
factor by  a  most  righteous  sentence,  and  on  whom,  neverthe- 
less, they  conferred  the  royal  dignity." — (Mosheim,  "Ec- 
clesiastical History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  I,  5:2.) 

15.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  first  century,  the  scene  of 
Judaistic  persecution  of  the  Church  had  shifted  from  Jeru- 
salem to  the  outlying  provinces;  and  the  cause  of  this  was  the 
general  exodus  of  Christians  from  the  city  whose  destruction 
had  been  decreed. —  (See  Note  4,  end  of  chapter.)    Our  Lord's 
predictions  as  to  the  fate  of  Jerusalem  and  His  warnings  to  the 
people — (See  Luke  21:5-9,   20-24.)   had  been  very  generally 
heeded.    Eusebius — (Eusebius,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book 
III,  ch.  5.)   informs  us  that  the  body  of  the  Church  had  moved 
from  Jerusalem  into  the  provinces  beyond  the  Jordan,  and  thus 
largely  escaped  the  calamities  of  the  Jews  who  remained. 


NOTES.  49 

1.  Persecution  in  Different  Dispensations.    It  may  be  argued  that,  judging 
from  the  history  of  the  re-established  Church  in  the  present  dispensation,  may 
tend  to  strengthen  rather  than  to  weaken  the  Church,  and  that  therefore 
violent  opposition  in  earlier  times  cannot  be  considered  a  true  cause  leading  to 
final  disruption.    In  reply  it  may  be  said  that  the  present  is  the  dispensation 
of  the  fulness  of  times, — a  period  in  which  the  Church  shall  triumph,  and  during 
which  the  powers  of  evil  are  limited  and  restrained  in  their  opposition;  whereas 
the  period  of  the  apostasy  was  one  of  temporary  victory  for  Satan.    Our  belief 

Jn  the  eventual  triumph  of  good  over  evil  must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that  evil 
is  frequently  allowed  a  short-lived  success-,  and  a  seeming  victory.  The  perman- 
ency of  the  Latter-day  Church  has  been  not  less  surely  predicted  than  was  the 
temporary  duration  of  the  Primitive  Church.  Satan  was  given  power  to  over- 
come the  saints  in  former  days,  and  the  persecutions  he  waged  against  them 
and  the  officers  of  the  Church  contributed  to  his  passing  success.  It  has  been 
decreed  that  he  shall  not  have  power  to  destroy  the  Church  in  the  last  dispen- 
sation, and  his  persecution  of  the  saints  today  will  be  futile  as  a  means  of  bring- 
ing about  a  general  apostasy  in  these  latter  times. 

2.  Persecution  as  a  Possible  Cause  of  Apostasy.    "Let  it  not  be  a  matter  of 
surprise  that  I  class  those  persecutions  as  among  the  means  through  which  the 
church  was  destroyed.    The  force  of  heathen  rage  was   aimed  at  the  leaders 
and  strong  men  of  the  body  religious;  and  being  long-continued  and  relentlessly 
cruel,  those  most  steadfast  in  their  adherence  to  the  Church  invariably  become 
its  victims.    These  being  stricken  down,  it  left  none  but  weaklings  to  contend 
for  the  faith,  and  made  possible  those  subsequent  innovations  in  the  religion 
of  Jesus  which  a  pagan  public  sentiment  demanded,  and  which  so  completely 
changed  both  the  spirit  and  form  of  the  Christian  religion  as  to  subvert  it 
utterly.    Let  me  further  ask  that  no  one  be  surprised  that  violence  is  permitted 
to  operate  in  such  a  case.    The  idea  that  the  right  is  always  victorious  in  this 
world,  that  truth  is  always  triumphant  and  innocence  always  divinely  protected, 
are  old,  fond  fables  with  which  well-meaning  men  have  amused  credulous  mul- 
titudes; but  the  stern  facts  of  history  and  actual  experience  in  life  correct  the 
pleasing  delusion.    Do  not  misunderstand  me.    I  believe  in  the  ultimate  victory 
of  the  right,  the  ultimate  triumph  of  truth,  the  final  immunity  of  innocence 
from  violence.    These — innocence,  truth  and  the  right — will  be  at  the  last  more 
than  conquerors;  they  will  be  successful  in  the  war,  but  that  does  not  prevent 
them  from  losing  some  battles.    It  should  be  remembered  always  that  God  has 
given  to  man  his  agency;  and  that  fact  implies  that  one  man  is  as  free  to  act 
wickedly  as  another  is  to  do  righteousness.     Cain  was  as  free  to  murder  his 
brother  as  that  brother  was  to  worship  God;  and  so  the  pagans  and  Jews  were 
as  free  to  persecute  and  murder  the  Christians  as  the  Christians  were  to  live 
virtuously  and  worship  Christ  as  God.    The  agency  of  man  would  not  be  worth 
the  name  if  it  did  not  grant  liberty  to  the  wicked  to  fill  the  cup  of  their  iniquity, 
as  well  as  liberty  to  the  virtuous  to  round  out  the  measure  of  their  righteous- 
ness^ Such  perfect  liberty  or  agency  God  has  given  man;  and  it  is  only  so 

— --Variously  modified  as  not  to  thwart  His  general  purposes."     (B.  H.  Roberts, 
"A  New  Witness  for  God,"  pp.  47,  48.) 

3.  Early  Persecutions  by  the  Jews.     "The  innocence  and  virtue  that  dis- 
tinguished so  eminently  the  lives  of  Christ's  servants,  the  apostles,  the  purity 


50  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

of  the  doctrine  they  taught,  were  not  sufficient  to  defend  them  against  the  viru- 
lence and  malignity  of  the  Jews.  The  priests  and  rulers  of  that  abandoned 
people  not  only  loaded  with  injuries  and  reproach  the  apostles  of  Jesus  and  their 
disciples,  but  condemned  as  many  of  them  as  they  could  to  death,  and  executed 
in  the  most  irregular  and  barbarous  manner  their  decrees.  The  murder  of 
Stephen,  of  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  of  James  surnamed  the  Just,  bishop 
of  Jerusalem,  furnished  dreadful  examples  of  the  truth  of  what  we  here  advance. 
This  odious  malignity  of  the  Jewish  doctors  against  the  heralds  of  the  gospel, 
was  undoubtedly  owing  to  a  secret  apprehension  that  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity would  destroy  the  credit  of  Judaism,  and  bring  on  the  ruin  of  their 
pompous  ceremonies."  In  a  footnote  to  the  foregoing,  references  appear  as 
follows.  "The  martyrdom  of  Stephen  is  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
7:55;  and  that  of  James  the  son  or  Zebedee,  Acts  12:1,  2,  and  that  of  James  the 
Just,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  is  mentioned  by  Josephus  in  his  Jewish  Antiquities, 
book  XX,  chap.  8;  and  by  Eusebius  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  book  II, 
chap.  23." — Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  I,  5:1.) 

4.  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans.  "A  rebellious  disturbance 
among  the  Jews  gave  a  semblance  of  excuse  for  a  terrible  chastisement  to  be 
visited  upon  them  by  their  Roman  masters,  which  culminated  in  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  71.  The  city  fell  after  a  six  months'  siege  before  the  Roman 
arms  led  by  Titus,  son  of  the  Emperor  Vespasian.  Josephus,  the  famous  his- 
torian, to  whom  we  owe  most  of  our  knowledge  as  to  the  details  of  the  struggle, 
was  himself  a  resident  in  Galilee  and  was  carried  to  Rome  among  the  captives. 
From  his  record  we  learn  that  nearly  a  million  Jews  lost  their  lives  through  the 
famine  incident  to  the  siege;  many  more  were  sold  into  slavery,  and  uncounted 
numbers  were  forced  into  exile.  The  city  was  utterly  destroyed,  and  the  site 
upon  which  the  temple  had  stood  was  plowed  up  by  the  Romans  in  their 
search  for  treasure.  Thus  literally  were  the  words  of  Christ  fulfilled,  There 
shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down. — 
(Matt.  24:1,  2;  see  also  Luke  19:44.)"  (The  Author,  "The  Articles  of  Faith," 
Lecture  17:18.) 


CHAPTER  V. 
Causes  of  Apostasy. — External  Causes,  Continued. 

1.  As  already  pointed  out,  it  is  convenient  to  study  the 
causes  leading  to  the  great  apostasy  as  belonging  to  two 
classes,  external  and  internal,  or  (1)  causes  due  to  conditions 
operating  against  the  Church  from  without;  and  (2)  causes 
arising  from  dissension  and  heresy  within  the  Church  itself. 


PAGAN  PERSECUTION.  51 

We  have  summarized  external  causes  under  the  general  term 
persecution;  and  we  have  drawn  a  distinction  between  Juda- 
istic  and  pagan  persecution  waged  against  the  Church.  Having 
dealt  with  the  opposition  suffered  by  the  early  Christians  at 
the  hands  of  the  Jews  or  through  Jewish  instigation,  we  have 
now  to  consider  the  persecution  brought  upon  the  believers  in 
Christ  by  pagan  nations. 

Pagan  Persecution. 

2.  The  term  "pagan"  as  here  used  may  be  taken  as  a 
synonym  of  "heathen,"  and  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  to 
persons  or  peoples  who  did  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  the 
living  God,  and   whose    worship    was    essentially    idolatrous. 
The  motives  impelling  non-believing  Jews  to  oppose  the  estab- 
lishment and  spread  of  Christianity  may  readily  be  understood, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  religion  taught  by  Christ  appeared  as 
a  rival  of  Judaism,  and  that  the  growth  and  spread  of  one 
meant  the  decline  if  not  the  extinction  of  the  other.     The  im- 
mediate motive  leading  to  bitter  and  widespread  persecution  of 
the  Christians  by  heathen  peoples  is  not  sq  easy  to  perceive, 
since   there   was   no   uniform   system   of   idolatrous   worship 
in  any  single  nation,  but  a  vast  diversity  of  deities  and  cults 
of  idolatry,  to  no  one  of  which  was  Christianity  opposed  more 
than  to  all.    Yet  we  find  the  worshipers  of  idols  forgetting  their 
own  differences   and  uniting  in  opposition  to  the  gospel  of 
peace, — in  persecution  waged  with  incredible  ferocity  and  in- 
describable cruelty. —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 

3.  Unfortunately,  historians  differ  widely  in  their  records 
of  persecution  of  Christians,  according  to  the  point  of  view 
from  which  each  writer  wrote.  Thus,  in  a  general  way,  Christian 
authors  have  given  extreme  accounts  of  the  sufferings  to  which 
the   Church   and  its   adherents  individually  were   subjected; 
while  non-Christian  historians  have  sought  to  lessen  and  mini- 
mize the  extent  and  severity  of  the  cruelties  practiced  against 
the  Christians.    There  are  facts,  however,  which  neither  party 
denies,  and  to  which  both  give  place  in  their  separate  records. 
To  make   a  fair  interpretation  of  these  facts,   drawing  just 
and  true  inferences  therefrom,  should  be  our  purpose. 

4.  Among  pagan  persecutors  of  the  Church,  the  Roman 
empire  is  the  principal  aggressor.    This  may  appear  strange  in 


52  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

view. of  the  general  tolerance  exercised  by  Rome  toward  her 
tributary  peoples;  indeed,  the  real  cause  of  Roman  opposition 
to  Christianity  has  given  rise  to  many  conjectures.  It  is 
probable  that  intolerant  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  Christians 
themselves  had  much  to  do  with  their  unpopularity  among 
heathen  nations.  This  subject  is  conservatively  summed  up 
by  Mosheim  as  follows: 

5.  "A  very  natural  curiosity  calls  us  to  inquire,  how  it  hap- 
pened that  the  Romans,  who  were  troublesome  to  no  nation  on 
account  of  their  religion,  and  who  suffered  even  the  Jews  to  live 
under  their  own  laws,  and  follow  their  own  methods  of  worship, 
treated  the  Christians  alone  with  such  severity.  This  important 
question  seems  still  more  difficult  to  be  solved,  when  we  con- 
sider, that  the  excellent  nature  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  its 
admirable  tendency  to  promote  both  the  public  welfare  of 
the  state,  and  the  private  felicity  of  the  individual,  entitled  it, 
in  a  singular  manner,  to  the  favor  and  protection  of  the  reign- 
ing powers.  One  of  the  principal  reasons  of  the  severity  with 
which  the  Romans  persecuted  the  Christians,  notwithstanding 
these  considerations,  seems  to  have  been  the  abhorrence  and 
Contempt  with  which  the  .latter_jjegarded  the  religion  nf  ffrp 
empire,  which  was  so  intimately  connected  with  the  form,  and 
ideed,  with  the  very  essence  of  its  political  constitution.  For, 
;hough  the  Romans  gave  an  unlimited  toleration  to  all  religions 
h  had  nothing  in  their  tenets  dangerous  to  the  common- 
jwealth,  yet  they  would  not  permit  that  of  their  ancestors, 
'which  was  established  by  the  laws  of  the  state,  to  be  turned 
into  derision  nor  the  people  to  be  drawn  away  from  their  attach- 
ment to  it.  These,  however,  were  the  two  things  which  the 
Christians  were  charged  with,  and  that  justly,  though  to  their 
honor.  They  dared  to  ridicufe  the  absurdities  of  the  pagan 
superstition,  and  they  were  ardent  and  assiduous  in  gaining 
proselytes  to  the  truth.  Nor  did  they  only  attack  the  religion  of 
Rome,  but  also  all  the  different  shapes  and  forms  under  which 
superstition  appeared  in  the  various  countries  where  they  exer- 
cised their  ministry.  From  this  the  Romans  concluded,  that  the 
Christian  sect  was  not  only  insupportably  daring  and  arrogant, 
but,  moreover,  an  enemy  to  the  public  tranquillity,  and  every 
way  proper  to  excite  civil  wars  and  commotions  in  the  empire. 
It  is  probably  on  this  account  that  Tacitus  reproaches  them 


PAGAN  PERSECUTION.  53 

with  the  odious  character  of  haters  of  mankind,  and  styles  the 
religion  of  Jesus  as  destructive  superstition;  and  that  Sueton- 
ious  speaks  of  the  Christians,  and  their  doctrine  in  terms  of  the 
same  kind. 

6.  "Another    circumstance    that    irritated    the    Romans 
against  the  Christians,  was  the  simplicity  of  their  worship, 
which  resembled  in  nothing  the  sacred  rites  of  any  other  people. 
The  Christians  had  neither  sacrifices,  nor  temples,  nor  images, 
nor  oracles,  nor  sacerdotal  orders;  and  this  was  sufficient  to 
bring  upon  them  the  reproaches  of  an  ignorant  multitude, 
who  imagined  that  there  could  be  no  religion  without  these. "- 
(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,  "  Cent.  1,  Part  1,  ch.  5:6,  7.) 

7.  Persecution  of  the  Church  by  Roman  authority  may  b 
said  to  have  begun  in  the  reign  of  Nero  (A.  D/^T))  and  to  have 
continued  to  the  close  of  Diocletian's  rei^n  (A.  DT305. )    Within 
this  range  of  time  there  were  many  periods  of  diminished  severi- 
ty, if  not  of  comparative  tranquillity;  nevertheless,  the  Church 
was  the  object  of  heathen  oppression  for  about  two  and  a  half 
centuries.    Attempts  have  been  made  by  Christian  writers  to 
segregate  the  persecutions  into  ten  distinct  and  separate  on- 
slaughts; and  some  profess  to  find  a  mystic  relation  between 
the  ten  persecutions  thus  classified,  and  the  ten  plagues  of 
Egypt,  as  also  an  analogy  with  the  ten  horns  mentioned  by 
John  the  Revelator. —  (See  Rev.  17:14.)     As  a  matter  of  fact 
attested  by  history,  the  number  of  persecutions  of  unusual 
severity  was  less  than  ten;  while  the  total  of  all,  including  local 
and  restricted  assaults,  would  be  much  greater. —  (See  Note  2, 
end  of  chapter.) 

8.  Persecution  under  Nero.  The  first  extended  and 
notable  persecution  of  Christians  under  the  official  edict  of  a 
Roman  emperor  was  that  instigated  by  Nero,  A.  D.  64.  As 
students  of  history  know,  this  monarch  is  remembered  mostly 
for  his  crimes.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  infamous  reign,  a 
large  section  of  the  city  of  Rome  was  destroyed  by  fire.  He 
was  suspected  by  some  of  being  responsible  for  the  disaster; 
and,  fearing  the  resentment  of  the  infuriated  people,  he  sought 
to  implicate  the  unpopular  and  much-maligned  Christians  as 
the  incendiaries,  and  by  torture  tried  to  force  a  confession  from 
them.  As  to  what  followed  the  foul  accusation,  let  us  consider 


54  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

the  words  of  a  non-Christian  writer,  Tacitus,  whose  integrity 
as  a  historian  is  held  in  esteem.  |g  ^ 

9.  "With  this  view,  he  (Nero)  inflicted  the  most  exquisite  *\ 
tortures  on  those  men  who,  under  the  vulgar  appellation  of 
Christians,  were  already  branded  with  deserved  infamy.    They 
derived  their  name  and  origin  from  Christ,  who,  in  the  reign 
of  Tiberius  had  suffered  death  by  the  sentence  of  the  procura- 
tor Pontius  Pilate.  For  a  while  this  dire  superstition  was  checked 
but  it  again  burst  forth;  and  not  only  spread  itself  over  Judea, 
the  first  seat  of  this  mischievous  sect,  but  was  even  introduced 
into  Rome,  the  common  asylum  which  receives  and  protects 
whatever  is  impure,  whatever  is  atrocious.     The  confessions 
of  those  that  were  seized  discovered  a  great  multitude  of  their 
accomplices,  and  they  were  all  convicted,  not  so  much  for  the 
crime  of  setting  fire  to  the  city,  as  for  their  hatred  of  human 
kind.    They  died  in  torments,  and  their  torments  were  embitter- 
ed by  insults  and  derision.    Some  were  nailed  on  crosses;  others 
sewn  up  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  and  exposed  to  the  fury 
of  dogs;  others,  again,  smeared  over  with  combustible  materials, 
were  used  as  torches  to  illuminate  the  darkness  of  the  night. 
The  gardens  of  Nero  were  destined  for  the  melancholy  spec- 
tacle, which  was  accompanied  with  a  horse-race,  and  honored 
with  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  who  mingled  with  the  popu- 
lace in  the  dress  and  attitude  of  a  charioteer.    The  guilt  of  the 
Christians  deserved  indeed  the  most  exemplary  punishments, 
but  the  public  abhorrence  was  changed  into  commiseration, 
from  the  opinion  that  those  unhappy  wretches  were  sacrificed, 
not  so  much  to  the  public  welfare  as  to  the  cruelty  of  a  jealous 
tyrant." — (Tacitus,  Annals,  Book  15,  ch.  44.) 

10.  There  is  some  disagreement  among  historians  as  to 
whether  the  Neronian  persecution  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  local 
infliction,  practically  confined  to  the  city  of  Rome,  or  as  general 
throughout  the  provinces. —  (See  Note  3,  end  of  chapter. )    The 
consensus  of  opinion  favors  the  belief  that  the  provinces  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  the  metropolis,  and  that  the  persecution 
was  common  throughout  the  Church. 

11.  This,  the  first  persecution  by  Roman  edict,  practically 
ended  with  the  death  of  the  tyrant  Nero,  A.  D.  68.    According 
to  tradition  handed  down  from  the  early  Christian  writers,  the 
Apostles  Paul  and  Peter  suffered  martyrdom  at  Rome,  the  form- 


PAGAN  PERSECUTION.  55 

•er  by  beheading,  the  latter  by  crucifixion,  during  this  per- 
secution; and  it  is  further  stated  that  Peter's  wife  was  put  to 
death  shortly  before  her  husband;  but  the  tradition  is  neither 
confirmed  nor  disproved  by  authentic  record. 

12.  Persecution  under  Domitian.  The  second  officially  ap- 
pointed persecution  under  Roman  authority  began  93  or  94 
A.  D.  in  the  reign  of  Domitian.  Both  Christians  and  Jews 
came  under  this  prince's  displeasure,  because  they  refused  to 
reverence  the  statues  he  had  erected  as  objects  of  adoration. 
A  further  cause  for  his  special  animosity  against  Christians,  as 
affirmed  by  early  writers,  is  as  follows.  The  emperor  was  per- 
suaded that  he  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  throne,  in  view  of  a 
reputed  prediction  that  from  the  family  to  which  Jesus  be- 
longed there  would  arise  one  who  would  weaken  if  not  over- 
throw the  power  of  Rome.  With  this  as  his  ostensible  excuse, 
this  wicked  ruler  waged  terrible  destruction  on  an  innocent 
people.  Happily,  the  persecution  thus  started  was  of  but  few 
years  duration.  Mosheim  and  others  aver  that  the  end  of  the 
persecution  was  caused  by  the  emperor's  untimely  death;  though 
Eusebius,  who  wrote  in  the  fourth  century,  quotes  an  earlier 
writer  as  declaring  that  Domitian  had  the  living  descendants  of 
the  Savior's  family  brought  before  him,  and  that  after  question- 
ing them  he  became  convinced  that  he  was  in  no  danger  from 
them;  and  thereupon  dismissed  them  with  contempt  and  ordered  » 
the  persecution  to  cease.  It  is  believed  that  while  the  edict  JL. 
of  Domitian  was  in  force  the  Apostle  John  suffered  banishment^/  ^ 
to  the  isle  of  Patmos. 

^.  13.  Persecution  under  Trajan.    What  is  known  in  ecclesias- 

tic tical  history  as  the  third  persecution  of  the  Christian  Church 
took  place  in  the  reign  of  Trajan,  who  occupied  the  imperial 
throne  from  98  to  117  A.  D.  He  was  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  best  of  the  Roman  emperors,  yet  he  sanctioned  violent 
persecution  of  the  Christians  owing  to  their  "inflexible  ob-^ 
stinacy"  in  refusing  to  sacrifice  to  Roman  gods.  History  has 
_ — frresefved  to  us  a  very  important  letter  asking  instructions  from 
the  emperor,  by  the  younger  Jgligy^  who  was  governor  of 
Pontus,  and  the  emperor's  reply  fhereto.  This  corres- 
pondence is  instructive  as  showing  the  extent  to  which 
Christianity  had  spread  at  that  time,  and  the  way  in  which 
believers  were  treated  by  the  officers  of  the  state. 


56  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

14.  Pliny  inquired  of  the  emperor  as  to  the  policy  to  be 
pursued  in  dealing  with  the  Christians  within  his  jurisdiction. 
Were  young  and  old,  tender  and  robust,  to  be  treated  alike,  or 
should  punishment  be  graded?     Should  opportunity  be  given 
the  accused  to  recant,  or  was  the  fact  that  they  had  once  pro- 
fessed Christianity  to  be  considered  an  unpardonable  offense? 
Were  those  convicted  as  Christians  to  be  punished  for  their 
religion  alone,  or  only  for  specific  offenses  resulting  from  their 
membership  in  the  Christian  Church?    After  propounding  such 
queries  the  governor  proceeded  to  report  to  the  emperor  what 
he  had  done  in  the  absence  of  definite  instructions.     In  reply 
the  emperor  directed  that  the  Christians  were  not  to  be  hunted 
nor  sought  after  vindictively,  but  if  accused  and  brought  before 
the  judgment  seat,  and  if  then  they  refused  to  denounce  their 
faith,  they  were  to  be  put  to  death. —  (See  Note  4,  end  of 
chapter. ) 

15.  Persecution  under  'Marcus  Aurelius.    Marcus  Aurelius 
reigned  from  161  to  180  A.  D.    He  was  noted  as  one  who  sought 
the  greatest  good  of  his  people;  yet  under  his  government  the 
Christians  suffered  added  cruelties.  Persecution  was  most  severe 
in  Gaul  (now  France).  Among  those  who  met  the  martyr's  fate  at 
that  time,  were  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  and  Justin  Mar- 
tyr,  known  in  history  as  the  philosopher.    With  reference  to  the 
seeming  anomaly  that  even  the  best  of  rulers  permitted  and 
even  prosecuted  vigorous  opposition  to  Christian  devotees,  as 
exemplified  by  the  acts  of  this  emperor,  a  modern  writer  has 
said:  "It  should  be  noted  that  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
under  the  pagan  emperors  sprung  from  political  rather  than 
religious  motives,  and  that  is  why  we  find  the  names  of  the 
best  emperors,  as  well  as  those  of  the  worst,  in  the  list  of  perse- 

It  was  believed  that  the  welfare  of  the  state  was  bound 
with  the  careful  performance  of  the  rites  of  the  national 
worship ;  and  hence,  while  the  Roman  rulers  were  usually  very 
tolerant  allowing  all  forms  of  worship  among  their  subjects, 
still  they  required  that  men  of  every  faith  should  at  least 
recognize  the  Roman  gods,  and  burn  incense  before  their  statues. 
This  the  Christians  steadily  refused  to  do.  Their  neglect  of  the 
service  of  the  temple,  it  was  believed,  angered  the  gods,  and 
endangered  the  safety  of  the  state,  bringing  upon  it  drought, 
pestilence,  and  every  disaster.  This  was  the  main  reason  of 


END  OP  PAGAN  PERSECUTION.  57 

their  persecution  by  the  pagan  emperors." — (General  History 
by  P.  V.  N.  Myers,  edition  of  1889,  p.  322.) 

16.  Later     Persecutions.       With     occasional     periods     of 
partial  cessation,  the  Christian  believers  continued  to  suffer  at 
the  hands  of  heathen  opponents  throughout  the  second  and 
third  centuries.     A  violent  persecution  marked  the  reign  of 
SP^PJMIS  (193-211  A.  D.)  in  the  first  decade  of  the  third  cen- 
tury;  another  characterized  the  reign  of  Maximin.  (235-238 
A.  D.)    A  period  of  unusual  severity  in  persecution  and  suffer- 
ing befell  the   Christians  during  the  short  reign   of   Decius 
known  also  as  Decius  Trajan.  (219-251  A.  D.)     The  persecu- 
tion under  Decius  is  designated  in  ecclesiastical  history  as  the 
seventh  persecution  of  the  Christian  Church.    Others  followed 
in  rapid  succession.    Some  of  these  periods  of  specific  oppression 
we  pass  over  and  come  to  the  consideration  of  the 

17.  iy.nd.t>.tiLn.n    Persecution,    which   is    spoken    of    as    the 
tenth,  and  happily  the  last.     Diocletian  reigned  from  284  to 
305  A.  D.     At  first  he  was  very  tolerant  toward  Christian 

i  belief  and  practice;  indeed  it  is  of  record  that  his  wife  and  daugh- 
JLter  were  Christians,  though  "in  some  sense,  secretly."    Later, 
f* '  nowever,  he  turned  against  the  Church  and  undertook  to  bring 
about  a  total  suppression  of  the  Christian  religion.     To  this 
end  he  ordered  a  general  destruction  of  Christian  books,  and 
decreed  the  penalty  of  death  against  all  who  kept  such  works 
in  their  possession. 

18.  Fire  broke  out  twice  in  the  royal  palace  at  Nicomedia, 
and  on  each  occasion  the  incendiary  act  was  charged  against 
the  Christians  with  terrible  results.    Four  separate  edicts,  each 
surpassing    in    vehemence    the    earlier    decrees,    were    issued 
against  the  believers;  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years  they  were 
the   victims   of   unrestrained  .rapine,   spoliation   and   torture. 
At  the  end  of  the  decade  of  terror  the  Church  was  in  a  scattered 
and  seemingly  in  a  hopeless  condition.    Sacred  records  had  been 
burnt;  places  of  worship  had  been  razed  to  the  ground;  thou- 
sands of  Christians  had  been  put  to  death;  and  every  possible 
effort  had  been  made  to  destroy  the  Church  and  abolish  Chris- 
tianity from  the  earth.     Descriptions  of  the  horrible  extremes 
to  which  brutality  was  carried  are  sickening  to  the  soul.     A 
single  example  must  suffice.    Eusebius,  referring  to  the  perse- 
cutions in  Egypt,  says:  "And  such  too  was  the  severity  of  the 


58  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

struggle  which  was  endured  by  the  Egyptians,  who  wrestled 
gloriously  for  the  faith  at  Tyre.  Thousands,  both  men,  and 
women  and  children,  despising  the  present  life  for  the  sake  of  our 
Savior's  doctrine,  submitted  to  death  in  various  shapes.  Some, 
after  being  tortured  with  scrappings  and  the  rack,  and  the  most 
dreadful  scourgings,  and  other  innumerable  agonies  which 
one  might  shudder  to  hear,  were  finally  committed  to  the  flames ; 
and  some  plunged  and  drowned  in  the  sea,  others  voluntarily 
offering  their  own  heads  to  their  executioners,  others  dying 
in  the  midst  of  their  torments,  some  wasted  away  by  famine, 
and  others  again  fixed  to  the  cross.  Some,  indeed,  were  executed 
as  malefactors  usually  were;  others,  more  cruelly,  were  nailed 
with  the  head  downwards,  and  kept  alive  until  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  .starving  on  the  cross  itself." — (Eusebius,  "Eccl. 
Hist.,"  Book8,  ch.  8.) 

19.  A  modern  writer,  whose  tendency  ever  was  to  minimize 
the    extent  of   Christian    persecution,    is    Edward  |T?bboii. 
His  account  of  the  conditions  prevailing  during  this  period  of 
Diocletian  outrage  is  as  follows:  "The  magistrates  were  com- 
manded to  employ  every  method  of  severity  which  might  re- 
claim them  from  their  odious  superstition,  and  oblige  them  to 
return  to  the  established  worship  of  the  gods.     This  rigorous 
order  was  extended,  by  a  subsequent  edict,  to  the  whole  body 
of  Christians,  who  were  exposed  to  a  violent  and  general  perse- 
cution.   Instead  of  those  salutary  restraints  which  had  required 
the  direct  and  solemn  testimony  of  an  accuser,  it  became  the 
duty  as  well  as  the  interest  of  the  imperial  officers  to  discover, 
to  pursue,  and  to  torment  the  most  obnoxious  among  the  faith- 
ful.    Heavy  penalties  were  denounced  against  all  who  should 
presume  to  save  a  proscribed  sectary  from  the  just  indignation 
of  the  gods  and  of  the  emperors. —  (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XVI.) 

20.  So  general  was  the   Diocletian  persecution,   and  so 
destructive  its  effect,  that  at  its  cessation  the  Christian  Church 
was  thought  to  be  forever  extinct.    Monuments  were  raised  to 
commemorate  the  emperor's  zeal  as  a  persecutor,  notably  two 
pillars  erected  in  Spain.    On  one  of  them  is  an  inscription  extol- 
ling the  mighty  Diocletian  "For  having  extinguished  the  name  — V 
of  Christians  who  brought  the  Republic  to  ruin."    A  second  pillar 
commemorates  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  and  honors  the  imperator 


END  OF  PAGAN  PERSECUTION.        3  0  If       59 

"for  having  everywhere  abolished  the  superstition  of  Christ-  for 
having  extended  the  worship  of  the  gods."  A  medal  struck  in 
honor  of  Diocletian  bears  the  inscription  "The  name  of  Christian 
being  extinguished." — (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  IV, 
ch.  1:38.)  To  the  fallacy  of  these  assumptions  subsequent 
events  testify. 

21.  The  Diocletian  oppression  was  the  last  of  the  great  per- 
secutions brought  by  pagan  Rome  against  Christianity  as  a 
whole.    A  stupendous  change,  amounting  to  a  revolution,  now 
appears  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.     Constantine.  known  in 
history  as  Constantine  the  Great,  became  emperor  of  Rome 
A.  D.  306,  and  reigned  31  years.  Early  in  his  reign  he  espoused 
the  hitherto  unpopular  cause  of  the  Christians,  and  took  the 
Church  under  official  protection.     A  legend  gained  currency 
that-the  emperor's  conversion  was  due  to  a  supernatural  mani- 
festation,  whereby  he  saw   a  luminous   cross   appear  in  the 
heavens  with  the  inscription,  "By  this  sign,  conquer."     The 
genuineness  of  this  alleged  manifestation  is  doubtful,  and  the 
evidence  of  history  is  against  it.    The  incident  is  here  mentioned 
to  show  the  means  devised  to  make  Christianity  popular  at  the 
time. 

22.  It  is  held  by  many  judicious  historians  that  Constan- 
tine's  so-called  conversion  was  rather  a  matter  of  policy  than  a 
sincere  acceptance  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.     The  emperor 
himself  remained  a  catechumen,  that  is,  an  unbaptized  believer, 
until  shortly  before  his  Heath T  when  he  became  a  member  by 

T)aptism.  But,  whatever  his  motives  may  have  been,  he  made 
Christianity  the  religion  of  state,  issuing  an  official  decree  to 
this  effect  in  313.  "He  made  the  cross  the  royal  standard;  and 
the  Roman  legions  now  for  the  first  time  marched  beneath  the 
emblem  of  Christianity."  (Myers.) 

23.  Immediately  following  the  change  there  was  a  great 
competition  for  church  preferment.    The  office  of  a  bishop  came 
to  be  more  highly  esteemed  than  the  rank  of  a  general.     The 
emperor  himself  was  the  real  head  of  the  Church!     ItTbecame 
unpopular  and  decidedly  disadvantageous  in  a  material  sense 
to  be  known  as  a  non-Christian.  Pagan  temples  were  transform- 
ed into  churches,  and  heathen  idols  were  demolished.     We 
read  that  twelve  thousand  men  and  a  proportionate  number  of 
women  and  children  were  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Rome 


7 


60  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

alone  within  a  single  year.  Constantine  removed  the  capital 
of  the  empire  from  Rome  to  Byzantium,  which  city  he  re-named 
after  himself,  Constantinople^ This,  the  present  capital  of 
Turkey,  became  headquarters  of  the  state  Church. 

24.  How  empty  and  vain  appears  the  Diocletian  boast 
that  Christianity  was  forever  extinguished!  Yet  how  different 
was  the  Church  under  the  patronage  of  Constantine  from  the 
Church  as  established  by  Christ  and  as  built  up  by  His  apostles! 
The  Church  had  already  become  apostate  as  judged  by  the 
standard  of  its  original  constitution. 

NOTES. 

1.  Cause  of  Pagan  Opposition  to  Christianity.    "The  whole  body  of  Chris- 
tians unanimously  refused  to  hold  any  communion  with  the  gods  of  Rome,  of 
the  empire,  and  of  mankind.    It  was  in  vain  that  the  oppressed  believer  asserted 
the  inalienable  rights  of  conscience  and  private  judgment.    Though  his  situa- 
tion might  excite  the  pity,  his  arguments  could  never  reach  the  understanding, 
either  of  the  philosophic  or  of  the  believing  part  of  the  pagan  world.    To  their 
apprehensions,  it  was  no  less  a  matter  of  surprise  that  any  individuals  should 
entertain  scruples  against  complying  with  the  established  mode  of  worship, 
than  if  they  had  conceived  a  sudden  abhorrence  to  the  manners,  the  dress,  or 
the  language  of  their  native  country.     The  surprise  of  the  pagans  was  soon 
succeeded  by  resentment;  and  the  most  pious  of  men  were  exposed  to  the  unjust 
but  dangerous  imputation  of  impiety.     Malice  and  prejudice  concurred  in 
representing  the  Christians  as  a  society  of  atheists,  who,  by  the  most  daring 
attack  on  the  religious  constitution  of  the  empire,  had  merited  the  severest 
animadversion  of  the  civil  magistrate.    They  had  separated  themselves  (they 
gloried  in  the  confession)  from  every  mode  of  superstition  which  was  received 
in  any  part  of  the  globe  by  the  various  temper  of  polytheism;  but  it  was  not 
altogether  so  evident  what  deity  or  what  form  of  worship  they  had  substituted 
to  the  gods  and  temples  of  antiquity.    The  pure  and  sublime  Mea  which  the^rl 
entertained  of  the  Supreme  Being  escaped  the  gross  conceptionof  the  pagan  1 
multitude,  who  were  at  a  loss  to  discover  a  spiritual  and  solitary  God,  that  was  I 
neither  represented  under  any  corporeal  figures  or  visible  symbol,  nor  was  adored  I 
with  the  accustomed  pomp  of  libations  and  festivals,  of  altars  and  sacrifices."  J 
(Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  chap.  XVI.) 

2.  As  to  the  Number  of  Persecutions  by  the  Romans.  "The  Romans  are 
said  to  have  pursued  the  Christians  with  the  utmost  violence  in  ten  persecutions, 
but  this  number  is  not  verified  by  the  ancient  history  of  the  church.  For  if, 
by  these  persecutions,  such  only  are  meant  as  were  singularly  severe  and  uni- 
versal throughout  the  empire,  then  it  is  certain  that  these  amount  not  to  the 
number  above  mentioned.  And,  if  we  take  the  provincial  and  less  remarkable 
persecutions  into  the  account,  they  far  exceed  it.  In  the  fifth  century,  certain 
Christians  (were)  led  by  some  passages  of  the  holy  scriptures  and  by  one  es- 
pecially in  the  Revelations  (Rev.  17:14),  to  imagine  that  the  church  was  to 
suffer  ten  calamities  of  a  most  grievous  nature.  To  this  notion,  therefore,  they 


NOTES.  61 

endeavored,  though  not  all  in  the  same  way,  to  accommodate  the  language  of 
history,  even  against  the  testimony  of  those  ancient  records,  from  whence 
alone  history  can  speak  with  authority."  (Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical  History," 
Cent.  I,  Part  I;  ch.  5:4.) 

Speaking  on  the  same  subject,  Gibbon  says:  "As  often  as  any  occasional 
severities  were  exercised  in  the  different  parts  of  the  empire,  the  primitive 
Christians  lamented  and  perhaps  magnified  their  own  sufferings;  but  the  cele- 
brated number  of  ten  persecutions  has  been  determined  by  the  ecclesiastical 
writers  of  the  fifth  century,  who  possessed  a  more  distinct  view  of  the  prosper- 
ous or  adverse  fortunes  or  the  church  from  the  age  of  Nero  to  that  of  Diocletian. 
The  ingenious  parallels  of  the  ten  plagues  of  Egypt  and  of  the  ten  horns  of  the 
Apocalypse  first  suggested  this  calculation  of  their  minds;  and  in  their  appli- 
cation of  the  faith  of  prophecy  to  the  truth  of  history  they  were  careful  to  select 
those  reigns  which  were  indeed  the  most  hostile  to  the  Christian  cause."  (Gib- 
bon, "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XVI.) 

3.  Extent  of  the  Neronian  Persecution.     "Learned  men  are  not  entirely 
agreed  concerning  the  extent  of  this  persecution  under  Nero.  Some  confine  it 
to  the  city  of  Rome,  while  others  represent  it  as  having  raged  throughout  the 
whole  empire.    The  latter  opinion,  which  is  also  the  most  ancient,  is  undoubted- 
ly to  be  preferred;  as  it  is  certain  that  the  laws  enacted  against  the  Christians 
were  enacted  against  the  whole  body,  and  not  against  particular  churches,  and 
were  consequently  in  force  in  the  remotest  provinces."     (Mosheim,  "Ecclesias- 
tical History,"  Cent.  I.  Part  I,  5:14.) 

4.  Correspondence  ^Between  Pliny  and  Trajan.    The  inquiry  of  the  younger 
Pliny,  governor  of  Pontus,  addressed  to  Trajan,  emperor  of  Rome,  and  the 
imperial  reply  thereto,  are  of  such  interest  as  to  be  worthy  of  reproduction  in 
full.    The  version  here  given  is  that  of  Milner  as  appears  in  his  "History  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,"  edition  of  1810,  Cent.  II,  ch.  1.) 

"Pliny  to  Trajan,  Emperor: 

"Health. — It  is  my  usual  custom,  Sir,  to  refer  all  things,  of  which  I  harbor 
any  doubts,  to  you.  For  who  can  better  direct  my  judgment  in  its  hesitation, 
or  instruct  my  understanding  in  its  ignorance?  I  never  had  the  fortune  to  be 
present  at  any  examination  of  Christians,  before  I  came  into  this  province. 
I  am  therefore  at  a  loss  to  determine  what  is  the  usual  object  either  of  inquiry 
or  of  punishment,  and  to  what  length  either  of  them  is  to  be  carried.  It  has 
also  been  with  me  a  question  very  problematical, — whether  any  distinction 
should  be  made  between  the  young  and  the  old,  the  tender  and  the  robust; — 
whether  any  room  should  be  given  for  repentance,  or  the  guilt  of  Christianity 
once  incurred  is  not  to  be  expiated  by  the  most  unequivocal  retraction; — 
whether  the  name  itself,  abstracted  from  any  flagitiousness  of  conduct,  or  the 
crimes  connected  with  the  name,  be  the  object  of  punishment.  In  the  mean- 
time, this  has  been  my  method,  with  respect  to  those  who  were  brought  before 
me  as  Christians.  I  asked  them  whether  they  were  Christians:  if  they  pleaded 
guilty,  I  interrogated  them  twice  afresh  with  a  menace  of  capital  punishment. 
In  case  of  obstinate  perseverance  I  ordered  them  to  be^  executed.  For  of  this 
I  had  no  doubt,  whatever  was  the  nature  of  their  religion,  that  a  sudden  and 
obstinate  inflexibility  called  for  the  vengeance  of  the  magistrate.  Some  were 
infected  with  the  same  madness,  whom,  on  account  of  their  privilege  of  citizen- 


62  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

ship,  I  reserved  to  be  sent  to  Rome,  to  be  referred  to  your  tribunal.     In  the 
course  of  this  business,  informations  pouring  in,  as  is  usual  when  they  are  en- 
couraged, more  cases  occurred.     An  anonymous  libel  was  exhibited,  with  a 
catalogue  of  names  of  persons,  who  yet  declared  that  they  were  not  Christians 
then,  nor  ever  had  been;  and  they  repeated  after  me  an  invocation  of  the  gods 
and  of  your  image,  which,  for  this  purpose,  I  had  ordered  to  be  brought  with 
the  images  of  the  deities.    They  performed  sacred  rites  with  wine  and  frank- 
incense, and  execrated  Christ, — none  of  which  things  I  am  told  a  real  Christian 
can  ever  be  compelled  to  do.     On  this  account  I  dismissed  them.     Others 
named  by  an  informer,  first  affirmed,  and  then  denied  the  charge  of  Christian- 
ity; declaring  that  they  had  been  Christians,  but  had  ceased  to  be  so  some  three 
years  ago,  others  even  longer,  some  even  twenty  years  ago.    All  of  them  wor- 
shiped your  image,  and  the  statues  of  the  gods,  and  also  execrated  Christ.    And 
this  was  the  account  which  they  gave  of  the  nature  of  the  religion  they  had  once 
professed,  whether  it  deserves  the  name  of  crime  or  error,  — namely — that  they 
were  accustomed  on  a  stated  day  to  meet  before  daylight,  and  to  repeat  among 
themselves  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  to  a  god,  and  to  bind  themselves  by  an  oath, 
with  an  obligation  of  not  committing  any  wickedness; — but  on  the  contrary, 
of  abstaining  from  thefts,  robberies,  and  adulteries; — also  of  not  violating  their 
promise  or  denying  a  pledge; — after  which  it  was  their  custom  to  separate, 
and  to  meet  again  at  a  promiscuous  harmless  meal,  from  which  last  practice 
they  however  desisted,  after  the  publication  of  my  edict,  in  which,  agreeably 
to  your  order,  I  forbade  any  societies  of  that  sort.    On  which  account  I  judged 
it  the  more  necessary  to  inquire,  by  torture,  from  two  females,  who  were  said 
to  be  deaconesses,  what  is  the  real  truth.    But  nothing  could  I  collect  except 
a  depraved  and  excessive  superstition.     Deferring,  therefore  any  farther  in- 
vestigation, I  determined  to  consult  you.     For  the  number  of  culprits  is  so 
great  as  to  call  for  serious  consultation.     Many  persons  are  informed  against 
of  every  age  and  of  both  sexes;  and  more  still  will  be  in  the  same  situation.    The 
contagion  of  the  superstition  hath  spread  not  only  through  cities,  but  even 
villages  and  the  country.  Not  that  I  think  it  impossible  to  check  and  correct  it. 
The  success  of  my  endeavors  hitherto  forbids  such  desponding  thoughts;  for 
the  temples,  almost  once  desolate,  begin  to  be  frequented,  and  the  sacred 
solemnities,  which  had  long  been  intermitted,  are  now  attended  afresh;  and  the 
sacrificial  victims  are  now  sold  everywhere,  which  once  could  scarcely  find  a 
purchaser.    Whence  I  conclude  that  many  might  be  reclaimed  were  the  hope 
of  impunity,  on  repentance,  absolutely  confirmed." 

The  emperor's  reply  follows: 
"Trajan  to  Pliny: 

"You  have  done  perfectly  right,  my  dear  Pliny,  in  the  inquiry  which  you 
have  made  concerning  Christians.  For  truly  no  one  general  rule  can  be  laid 
down,  which  will  apply  itself  to  all  cases.  These  people  must  not  be  sought 
after.  If  they  are  brought  before  you  and  convicted,  let  them  be  capitally 
punished,  yet  with  this  restriction,  that  if  any  one  renounce  Christianity,  and 
evidence  his  sincerity  by  supplicating  our  gods,  however  suspected  he  may  be 
for  the  past,  he  shall  obtain  pardon  for  the  future,  on  his  repentance.  But 
anonymous  libels  in  no  case  ought  to  be  attended  to;  for  the  precedent  would 
be  of  the  worst  sort,  and  perfectly  incongruous  to  the  maxims  of  my  govern- 
ment." 


INTERNAL  CAUSES.  63 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Causes  of  the  Apostasy. — Internal  Causes. 

1.  The  cruel  persecution  to  which  the  adherents  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Church  as  an  organized  body  were  subjected 
during  the  first  three  centuries  of  our  era  have  been  treated  as 
external  causes,  contributing  at  least  indirectly  to  the  general 
apostasy.  Details  of  Judaistic  and  heathen  opposition  have  been 
given  with  sufficient  fulness  to  show  that  the  unpopular  Church 
had  a  troubled  existence,  and  that  such  of  its  members  as  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  tenets  and  principles  of  the  gospel  were 
martyrs  in  spirit  if  not  in  fact. 

2.  As  would  naturally  be  expected,  the  immediate  effect 
of  persistent  persecution  on  those  who  professed  a  belief  in  the 
divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  diverse  and  varied;  indeed  it 
ranged   from   unrestrained  enthusiasm   expressed  in  frenzied 
clamoring  for  martyrdom,  to  ready  and  abject  apostasy  with 
ostentatious  display  of  devotion  in  idolatrous  service. 

3.  Many    of    the    Christian    devotees    developed    a    zeal 
amounting  to  mania,  and,  disregarding  all  prudence  and  discre- 
tion, gloried  in  the  prospect  of  winning  the  martyr's  crown. 
Some  who  had  been  left  unassailed  felt  themselves  aggrieved, 
and  became  their  own  accusers;  while  others  openly  committed 
acts  of  aggression  with  intent  to  bring  resentment  upon  them- 
selves.—  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.)     These  extravagances 
were  doubtless  encouraged  by  the  excessive  veneration  accorded 
the  memories  and  the  bodily  remains  of  those  who  had  fallen  as 
victims  in  the  cause.     The  reverential  respect  so  rendered  devel- 
oped later  into  the  impious  practice  of  martyr  woi 


4.  Commenting  on  the  imprudent  enthusiasm  of  the  early 
Christians,  Gibbon  says:  "The  Christians  sometimes  supplied 
by  their  voluntary  declaration  the  want  of  an  accuser,  rudely 
disturbed  the  public  service  of  paganism,  and,  rushing  in 


64  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

crowds  round  the  tribunal  of  the  magistrates,  called  upon  them 
to  pronounce  and  to  inflict  the  sentence  of  the  law.  The  be- 
havior of  the  Christians  was  too  remarkable  to  escape  the  notice 
of  the  ancient  philosophers;  but  they  seem  to  have  received  it 
with  much  less  admiration  than  astonishment.  Incapable  of 
conceiving  the  motives  which  sometimes  transported  the  forti- 
tude of  believers  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence  and  reason, 
they  treated  such  an  eagerness  to  die  as  the  strange  result  of 
obstinate  despair,  of  stupid  insensibility  or  of  superstitious 
frenzy." — (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire," 
ch.  XVI.) 

5.  But  there  is  another  side  to  the  picture.    While  impru- 
dent zealots  invited  dangers  from  which  they  might  have  re- 
mained exempt,  others,  affrighted  at  the  possibility  of  being 
included  among  the  victims,  voluntarily  deserted  the  Church 
and  returned  to  heathen  allegiances.    Milner,  speaking  of  con- 
ditions existing  in  the  third  century,   and  incorporating  the 
words  of  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  who  lived  at  the  time  of 
the  incident  described,  says:  "Vast  numbers  lapsed  into  idolatry 
immediately.     Even  before  men  were  accused  as  Christians, 
many  ran  to  the  forum  and  sacrificed  to  the  gods  as  they  were 
ordered;  and  the  crowds  of  apostates  were  so  great,  that  the 
magistrates  wished  to  delay  numbers  of  them  till  the  next  day, 
but  they  were  importuned  by  the  wretched  suppliants  to  be 
allowed  to  prove  themselves  heathens  that  very  night." — (Mil- 
ner, "Church  History,"  Cent.  Ill,  ch.  8.) 

6.  In  connection  with  this  individual  apostasy  of  Church 
members  under  the  pressure  of  persecution,  there  arose  among 
the  provincial  governors  a  practice  of  selling  certificates  or 
"libels"  as  these  documents  were  called,  which  "attested  that 
the  persons  therein  mentioned  had  complied  with  the  laws  and 
sacrificed  to  the  Roman  deities.    By  producing  these  false  dec- 
larations, the  opulent  and  timid  Christians  were  enabled  to 
silence  the  malice  of  an  informer,  and  to  reconcile,  in  some  meas- 
ure, their  safety  with  their  religion." — (Gibbon,  "Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XVI.)    A  modification  of  this 
practice  of  quasi-apostasy  consisted  in  procuring  testimonials 
from  persons  of  standing  certifying  that  the  holders  had  abjured 
the  gospel;  these  documents  were  presented  to  the  heathen 
magistrates,  and  they,  on  receipt  of  a  specified  fee,  granted 


INTERNAL  CAUSES.  65 

exemption  from  the  requirement  of  sacrificing  to  the  pagan 
gods.— (See  Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  Ill,  ch.  9.)  As 
a  result  of  these  practices,  whereby  under  favorable  circum- 
stances the  wealthy  could  purchase  immunity  from  persecution, 
and  at  the  same  time  maintain  a  semblance  of  standing  in  the 
Church,  much  dissension  arose,  the  question  being  as  to  whether 
those  who  had  thus  shown  their  weakness  could  ever  be  re- 
ceived again  into  communion  with  the  Church. 

7.  Persecution  at  most  was  but  an  indirect  cause  of  the  de- 
cline of  Christianity  and  the  perversion  of  the  saving  principles 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  greater  and  more  immediate  dangers 
threatening  the  Church  must  be  sought  within  the  body  itself. 
Indeed,  the  pressure  of  opposition  from  without  served  to  re- 
strain the  bubbling  springs  of  internal  dissension,  and  actually 
delayed  the  more  destructive  eruptions  of  schism  and  heresy. 

—  (See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter. )  A  general  review  of  the  history 
of  the  Church  down  to  the  end  of  the  third  century  shows  that 
the  periods  of  comparative  peace  were  periods  of  weakness  and 
decline  in  spiritual  earnestness,  and  that  with  the  return  of  per- 
secution came  an  awakening  and  a  renewal  in  Christian  devo- 
tion. Devout  leaders  of  the  people  were  not  backward  in  de- 
claring that  each  recurring  period  of  persecution  was  a  time  of 
natural  and  necessary  chastisement  for  the  sin  and  corruption 
that  had  gained  headway  within  the  Church. —  (See  Note  3, 
end  of  chapter.) 

8.  As  to  the  condition  of  the  Church  in  the  middle  of  the 
third  century,  Cyprian,  the  bishop  of  Carthage,  thus  speaks: 
"If  the  cause  dl^our  rmseries  be  investigated,  the  cure  of  the 
wound  may  be  found.     The  Lord  would  have  his  family  to  be 
tried.     And  because  long  peace  had  corrupted  the  discipline 
divinely  revealed  to  us,  the  heavenly  chastisement  hath  raised 
up  our  faith,  which  had  lain  almost  dormant:  and  when,  by  our 
sins,  we  have  deserved  to  suffer  still  more,  the  merciful  Lord  so 
moderated  all  things,  that  the  whole  scene  rather  deserves  the 
name  of  a  trial  than  a  persecution.    Each  had  been  bent  on  im- 
proving his  patrimony;  and  had  forgotten  what  believers  had 
done  under  the  apostles,  and  what  they  ought  always  to  do: — 
they  were  brooding  over  the  arts  of  amassing  wealth: — the 
pastors  and  the  deacons  each  forgot  their  duty:  Works  of  mercy 
were  neglected,  and  discipline  was  at  the  lowest  ebb. — Luxury 


66  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

and  effeminacy  prevailed:  Meretricious  arts  in  dress  were  cul- 
tivated: Frauds  and  deceit  were  practiced  among  brethren.— 
Christians  could  unite  themselves  in  matrimony  with  unbe- 
lievers; could  swear  not  only  without  reverence,  but  even  without 
veracity.  With  haughty  asperity  they  despised  their  ecclesiasti- 
cal superiors:  They  railed  against  one  another  with  outrageous 
acrimony,  and  conducted  quarrels  with  determined  malice: — 
Even  many  bishops,  who  ought  to  be  guides  and  patterns  to  the 
rest,  neglecting  the  peculiar  duties  of  their  stations,  gave  them- 
selves up  to  secular  pursuits: — They  deserted  their  places  of 
residence  and  their  flocks:  They  traveled  through  distant  pro- 
vinces in  quest  of  pleasure  and  gain;  gave  no  assistance  to  the 
needy  brethren;  but  were  insatiable  in  their  thirst  of  money: — 
They  possessed  estates  by  fraud  and  multiplied  usury.  What 
have  we  not  deserved  to  suffer  for  such  conduct?  Even  the 
divine  word  hath  foretold  us  what  we  might  expect.— 'If  his 
children  forsake  my  law,  and  walk  not  in  my  judgments,  I  will 
visit  their  offenses  with  the  rod,  and  their  sin  with  scourges.' 
These  things  had  been  denounced  and  foretold,  but  in  vain. 
Our  sins  had  brought  our  affairs  to  that  pass,  that  because  we 
had  despised  the  Lord's  directions,  we  were  obliged  to  undergo 
a  correction  of  our  multiplied  evils  and  a  trial  of  our  faith  by 
severe  remedies." — (As  quoted  by  Milner,  "Church  History," 
Cent.  Ill,  ch.  8.  ) 

9.  Milner,  who  quotes  approvingly  the  severe  arraignment 
of  the  Church  in  the  third  century  as  given  above,  cannot  be 
charged   with   bias   against   Christian   institutions,   inasmuch 
as  his  declared  purpose  in  presenting  to  the  world  an  additional 
"History  of  the  Church  of  Christ"  was  to  give  due  attention  to 
certain  phases  of  the  subject  slighted  or  neglected  by  earlier 
authors,  and  notably  to  emphasize  the  piety,  not  the  wickedness,  . 
of  the  professed  followers  of  Christ.     This  author,  avowedly 
friendly  to  the  Church  and  her  votaries,  admits  the  growing  de- 
pravity of  the  Christian  sects,  and  declares  that  toward  the  end 
of  the  third  century  the  effect  of  the  Pentecostal  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  had  become  exhausted,  and  that  there  remained 
little  proof  of  any  close  relationship  between  Christ  and  the 
Church. 

10.  Note   his   summary   of   conditions:    "The   era   of   its 
actual    declension    must    be    dated    in    the    pacific    part    of 


INTERNAL  CAUSES.  67 

Diocletian's  reign.  During  this  whole  century  the  work  of  God, 
in  purity  and  power,  had  been  tending  to  decay.  The  connection 
with  philosophers  was  one  of  the  principal  causes.  Outward 
peace  and  secular  advantages  completed  the  corruption. 
Ecclesiastical  discipline,which  had  been  too  strict,was  now  relax- 
ed exceedingly;  bishops  and  people  were  in  a  state  of  malice. 
Endless  quarrels  were  fomented  among  contending  parties,  and 
rambition  and  covetousness  had  in  general  gained  the  ascendency 
(Jn  the  Christian  Church.  *  *  *  The  faith  of  Christ  itself  appeared 
now  an  ordinary  business;  and  here  terminated,  or  nearly  so, 
as  far  as  appears,  the  first  great  effusion  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  began  at  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Human  depravity  effect- 
ed throughout  a  general  decay  of  godliness;  and  one  generation 
of  men  elapsed  with  very  slender  proofs  of  the  spiritual  presence 
of  Christ  with  His  Church."— (Milner,  "Church  History," 
Cent.  Ill,  ch.  17.) 

11.  If  further  evidence  be  wanted  as  to  the  fires  of 
tion  smoldering  within  the  Church,  and  so  easily  fanned  into 
destructive  flame,  let  the  testimony  of  Eusebius  be  considered 
with  respect  to  conditions  characterizing  the  second  half  of  the 
third  century.  And,  in  weighing  his  words,  let  it  be  remember- 
ed that  he  had  expressly  recorded  his  purpose  of  writ- 
ing in  defense  of  the  Church,  and  in  support  of  her 
institutions.  He  bewails  the  tranquillity  preceding  the  Dio- 
cletian outbreak,  because  of  its  injurious  effect  upon  both 
officers  and  members  of  the  Church.  These  are  his  words: 
"But  when  by  excessive  liberty  we  have  sunk  into  indolence  and 
sloth,  one  envying  and  reviling  another  in  different  ways,  and 
we  were  almost,  as  it  were,  on  the  point  of  taking  up  arms 
against  each  other,  and  were  assailing  each  other  with  words, 
as  with  darts  and  spears,  prelates  inveighing  against  prelates, 
and  people  rising  up  against  people,  and  hypocrisy  and  dis- 
simulation had  arisen  to  the  greater  heights  of  malignity,  then 
the  divine  judgment,  which  usually  proceeds  with  a  lenient 
hand,  whilst  the  multitudes  were  yet  crowding  into  the  Church, 
with  gentle  and  mild  visitations  began  to  afflict  its  episcopacy; 
the  persecution  having  begun  with  those  brethren  that  were  in 
the  army.  *  *  *  But  some  that  appeared  to  be  our  pastors, 
deserting  the  lav/  of  piety,  were  inflamed  against  each  other  with 
mutual  strifes,  accumulating  quarrels  and  threats,  rivalry, 


68  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

hostility,  and  hatred  to  each  other,  only  anxious  to  assert  the 
government    as    a    kind    of    sovereignty    for    themselves. "- 
(Eusebius,  ' 'Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book  VIII,  ch.   1.     See 
note  4,  end  of  chapter.) 

12.  As  further  illustrative  of  the  decline  of  the  Christian 
spirit  toward  the  end  of  the  third  century,  Milner  quotes  the  fol- 
lowing observation  of  Eusebius,  an  eye-witness  of  the  condi- 
tions described:  "The  heavy  hand  of  God's  judgment  began 
softly,  by  little  and  little,  to  visit  us  after  His  wonted  manner; 

*  *  *  but  we  were  not  at  all  moved  with  His  hand,  nor  took  any 
pains  to  return  to  God.  We  heaped  sin  upon  sin,  judging  like 
careless  Epicureans,  that  God  cared  not  for  our  sins,  nor  would 
ever  visit  us  on  account  of  them.  And  our  pretended  shepherds, 
laying  aside  the  rule  of  godliness,  practiced  among  themselves 
contention  and  division."  He  adds  that  the  "dreadful  perse- 
cution of  Diocletian  was  then  inflicted  on  the  Church  as  a  just 
punishment,  and  as  the  most  proper  chastisement  for  their 
iniquities." — (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  Ill,  ch.  17.) 

13.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  great  change  whereby 
the  Church  was  raised  to  a  place  of  honor  in  the  state,  occurred 
in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century.     It  is  a  popular  error 
to  assume  that  the  decay  of  the  Church  as  a  spiritual  institution 
dates  from  that  time.    The  picture  of  the  Church  declining  as 
to  spiritual  power  in  exact  proportion  to  her  increase  of  tempor- 
al influence  and  wealth  has  appealed  to  rhetoricians  and  writers 
of  sensational  literature;  but  such  a  picture  does  not  present 
the  truth^^The  Church  was  saturated  with  the  spirit  of  apostasy 
long "Be^re_Constantine  took  it  under  his  powerful  protection 

"By  according  it  official  standing  in  the  state.  In  support  of  this 
statement,  I  quote  again  from  Milner,  the  avowed  friend  of  the 
Church:  "I  know  it  is  common  for  authors  to  represent  the 
great  declension  of  Christianity  to  have  taken  place  only  after 
its  external  establishment  under  Constantine.  But  the  evidence 
of  history  has  compelled  me  to  dissent  from  this  view  of  things. 
In  fact,  we  have  seen  that  for  a  whole  generation  previous 
to  the  [Diocletian]  persecution,  few  marks  of  superior  piety 
appeared.  Scarce  a  luminary  of  godliness  existed;  and  it  is  not 
common  in  any  age  for  a  great  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  be 
exhibited  but  under  the  conduct  of  some  remarkable  saints, 
pastors,  and  reformers.  This  whole  period  as  well  as  the  whole 


INTERNAL  CAUSES.  69 

scene  of  the  persecution  is  very  barren  in  such  characters. 
*  *  *  Moral  and  philosophical  and  monastical  instructions  will 
not  effect  for  men  what  is  to  be  expected  from  evangelical 
doctrine.  And  if  the  faith  of  Christ  was  so  much  declined  (and 
its  decayed  state  ought  to  be  dated  from  about  the  year  270), 
we  need  not  wonder  that  such  scenes  as  Eusebius  hints  at  with- 
out any  circumstantial  details,  took  place  in  the  Christian 
world.  *  *  *  He  speaks  also  of  the  ambitious  spirit  of  many^-ixu 
aspiring  to  the  offices  of  the  Churchrthe  ill  judged  and  unlawful^ 
ordinations,  the  quarrels  among  confessors  themselves,  and  the 
excited  by  young  demagogues  in  the  very  relics  of 


the  persecuted  Church,  and  the  multiplied  evils  which  their 
vices  excited  among  Christians.  How  sadly  must  the  Christian 
world  have  declined  which  could  thus  conduct  itself  under  the 
very  rod  of  divine  vengeance?  Yet  let  not  the  infidel  or  the 
profane  world  triumph.  It  was  not  Christianity,  but  the  depart- 
ure from  it,  which  brought  on  these  evils."  —  (Milner,  "Church 
History,"  Cent.  IV,  ch.  I.  The  italics  are  introduced  by  the 
present  writer.  See  also  Note  5,  end  of  chapter.) 

14.  The  foregoing  embodies  but  a  few  of  the  many  evi- 
dences that  could  be  cited  in  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  period  immediately  following  the  apostolic  ministry  —  the 
period  covered  by  the  persecutions  of  the  Christians  by  the 
heathen  nations,  —  the  Church  was  undergoing  internal  deter- 
ioration, and  was  in  a  state  of  increasing  perversion.    Among  the 
more  detailed  or  specific  causes  of  this  ever  widening  departure 
from  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  this  rapidly  growing 
apostasy,  the  following  may  be  considered  as  important  ex- 
amples : 

(1).  The  corrupting  of  the  simple  principles  of  the  gospel 
by  the  admixture  of  the  so-called  philosophic  systems  of  the 
times. 

(2).  Unauthorized  additions  to  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Church,  and  the  introduction  of  vital  changes  in  essential  or- 
dinances. 

(3).  Unauthorized  changes  in  Church  organization  and 
government. 

15.  We  shall  consider  in  due  order  each  of  the  three  causes 
here  enumerated.    It  may  appear  that  the  conditions  set  forth 
in  these  specifications  are  more  properly  to  be  regarded  as 


70  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

effects  or  results,  than  as  causes,  incident  to  the  general  apos- 
tasy,— that  they  are  in  the  nature  of  evidences  or  proofs  of  a 
departure  from  the  original  constitution  of  the  Church,  rather 
than  specific  causes  by  which  the  fact  of  apostasy  is  to  be  ex- 
plained or  accounted  for.  Cause  and  effect,  however,  are  some- 
times very  intimately  associated,  and  resulting  conditions  may 
furnish  the  best  demonstration  of  causes  in  operation.  Each  of 
the  conditions  given  above  as  a  specific  cause  of  the  progressive 
apostasy  was,  at  its  inception,  an  evidence  of  existing  unsound- 
ness,  and  an  active  cause  of  the  graver  results  that  followed. 
Each  succeeding  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  apostasy  was 
at  once  the  result  of  earlier  disaffection,  and  the  cause  of  later 
and  more  pronounced  developments. 

NOTES. 

1.  Inordinate  Zeal  Manifested  by  Some  of  the  Early  Christians'.  "The 
sober  discretion  of  the  present  age  will  more  readily  censure  than  admire,  but 
can  more  easily  admire  than  imitate,  the  fervor  of  the  first  Christians;  who, 
according  to  the  lively  expression  of  Sulpicius  Severus,  desired  martyrdom  with 
more  eagerness  than  his  own  contemporaries  solicited  a  bishopric.  The  epistles 
which  Ignatius  composed  as  he  was  carried  in  chains  through  the  cities  or  Asia, 
breathe  sentiments  the  most  repugnant  to  the  ordinary  feelings  of  human 
nature.  He  earnestly  beseeches  the  Romans  that  when  he  should  be  exposed 
in  the  amphitheatre,  they  would  not  by  their  kind  but  unreasonable  intercession, 
deprive  him  of  the  crown  of  glory,  and  he  declares  his  resolution  to  provoke  and 
irritate  the  wild  beasts  which  might  be  employed  as  the  instruments  of  his 
death.  Some  stories  are  related  of  the  courage  of  martyrs  who  actually  per- 
formed what  Ignatius  had  intended:  who  exasperated  the  fury  of  the  lions, 
pressed  the  executioner  to  hasten  his  office,  cheerfully  leaped  into  the  fires  which 
were  kindled  to  consume  them,  and  discovered  a  sensation  of  joy  and  pleasure 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  exquisite  torture." — (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XVI. ) 

2.  Internal  Dissensions  During  Time  of  Peace.  As  stated  in  the  text,  the 
early  part  of  Diocletian's  reign — the  period  immediately  preceding  the  outburst 
of  the  last  great  persecution  to  which  the  Christians  were  subjected — was  a 
time  of  comparative  freedom  from  opposition,  and  this  period  was  character- 
ized by  internal  disturbances  and  dissensions  within  the  Church.  Illustrative 
of  the  tolerance  shown  by  the  emperor  before  he  became  hostile  to  the  Church, 
and  the  accompanying  decline  of  spiritual  earnestness  among  the  Christians 
themselves,  Gibbon  says:  "Diocletian  and  his  colleagues  frequently  conferred 
the  most  important  offices  on  those  persons  who  avowed  their  abhorrence  of 
the  worship  of  the  gods,  but  who  had  displayed  abilities  proper  for  the  service 
of  the  state.  The  bishops  held  an  honorable  rank  in  the  respective  provinces, 
and  were  treated  with  distinction  and  respect,  not  only  by  the  people,  but  by 
the  magistrates  themselves.  Almost  in  every  city  the  ancient  churches  were 


NOTES.  71 

found  insufficient  to  contain  the  increasing  multitudes  of  proselytes;  and  in 
their  place  more  stately  and  capacious  edifices  were  erected  for  the  public  wor- 
ship of  the  faithful.  The  corruption  of  manners  and  principles  so  forcibly 
lamented  by  Eusebius,  may  be  considered  not  only  as  a  consequence,  but  as  a 
proof,  of  the  liberty  which  the  Christians  enjoyed  and  abused  under  the  reign 
of  Diocletian.  Prosperity  had  relaxed  the  nerves  of  discipline.  Fraud,  envy, 
and  malice  prevailed  in  every  congregation.  The  presbyters  aspired  to  the 
episcopal  office,  which  every  day  became  an  object  more  worthy  of  their  am- 
bition. The  bishops  who  contended  with  each  other  for  ecclesiastical  pre- 
eminence, appeared  by  their  conduct  to  claim  a  secular  and  tyrannical  power 
in  the  church;  and  the  lively  faith  which  still  distinguished  the  Christians  from 
the  Gentiles,  was  shown  much  less  in  their  lives  than  in  their  controversial 
writings." — (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XVI.) 

3.  The  Effect  of  Peace  on  the^  Early  Church.    "Disastrous  as  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  early  Christian  centuries  were,  still  more  mischievous  to  the  Church 
were  those  periods  of  tranquillity  which  intervened  between  the  outbursts  of 
rage  which  prompted  them.    Peace  may  have  her  victories  no  less  renowned 
than  those  of  war;  and  so,  too,  she  has  her  calamities,  and  they  are  not  less 
destructive  than  those  of  war.    War  may  destroy  nations,  but  ease  and  luxury 
mankind  corrupt— the  body  and  the  mind.    Especially  is  peace  dangerous  to 
the  church.    Prosperity  relaxes  the  reins  of  discipline;  people  feel  less  and  less 
the  need  of  a  sustaining  providence;  but  in  adversity  the  spirit  of  man  feels 
after  God,  and  he  is  correspondingly  more  devoted  to  the^service  of  ^  religion. 
We  shall  find  the  early  Christians  no  exception  to  the  operation  of  this  influence 
of  repose.    Whenever  it  was  accorded  them,  either  through  the  mercy  or  the 
indifference  of  the  emperors,  internal  dissensions,  the  intrigues  of  aspiring  pre- 
lates, and  the  rise  of  heresies,  characterized  those  periods." —  (B.  H.  Roberts, 
"A  New  Witness  for  God,"  p.  70.) 

4.  Schisms  and  Heresies  in  the  Early  Church.     Eusebius,  whose  writings 
date  from  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  cites  the  writings  of  Hegesippus, 
who  lived  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century,  as  follows:  "The  same  au- 
thor [Hegesippus]  also  treats  of  the  beginning  of  the  heresies  that  arose  about 
this  time,  in  the  following  words:  'But  after  James  the  Just  had  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom, as  our  Lord  had  for  the  same  reason,  Simeon,  the  son  of  Cleophas,  our 
Lord's  uncle,  was    appointed    the    second    bishop    [of  Jerusalem]  whom  all 
proposed  as  the  cousin  of  our  Lord.    Hence  they  called  the  Church  as  yet  a 
virgin,  for  it  was  not  yet  corrupted  by  vain  discourses.     Thebuthis  made  a 
beginning,  secretly  to  corrupt  it  on  account  of  his  not  being  made  bishop.    He 
was  one  of  those  seven  sects  among  the  Jewish  people.     Of  these  also  was 
Simeon,  whence  sprang  the  sect  of  Simonians;  also  Cleobius,  from  whence  came 
the  Cleobians;  also  Dositheus,  the  founder  of  the  Dositheans.    From  these  also 
sprung  the  Gortheonians  from  Gortheoeus;  and  also  Masbotheans  from  Mas- 
bothoeus.     Hence  also  the  Meandrians,  the  Marcionists,  and  Carpocratians 
and  Valentinians,  and  Basilidians,  and  the  Saturnillians,  every  one  introducing 
his  own  peculiar  opinions,  one  differing  from  the  other.    From  these  sprung  the 
false  Christs  and  the  false  prophets  and  false  apostles,  who  divided  the  unity 
of  the  Church  by  the  introduction  of  corrupt  doctrines  against  God  and  against 
His  Christ." — (Eusebius,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book  IV,  ch.  22.) 


72  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

5.  Early  Decline  of  the  Church:  Milner,  summing  up  the  conditions  at- 
tending the  Church  at  the  end  of  the  second  century,  says:  "And  here  we  close 
the  view  of  the  second  century,  which,  for  the  most  part  exhibited  proofs  of 
divine  grace,  as  strong,  or  nearly  so,  as  the  first.  We  have  seen  the  same  un- 
shaken and  simple  faith  of  Jesus,  the  same  love  of  God  and  of  the  brethren; 
and — that  in  which  they  singularly  excelled  modern  Christians — the  same 
heavenly  spirit  and  victory  over  the  world.  But  a  dark  shade  is  enveloping 
these  divine  glories.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  grieved  already  by  the  ambitious 
intrusions  of  self-righteous,  argumentative  refinements,  and  Pharisaic  pride; 
and  though  it  be  more  common  to  represent  the  most  sensible  decay  of  godli- 
ness as  commencing  a  century  later,  to  me  it  seems  already  begun." — (Milner, 
"Church  History,"  Cent.  II,  ch.  9.) 

Mosheim,  writing  of  conditions  attending  the  closing  years  of  the  third 
century,  says:  "The  ancient  method  of  ecclesiastical  government  seemed  in 
general  still  to  subsist,  while,  at  the  same  time,  by  imperceptible  steps,  it  varied 
from  the  primitive  rule  and  degenerated  toward  the  form  of  a  religious  mon- 
archy. *  *  *  This  change  in  the  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  was  soon 
followed  by  a  train  of  vices,  which  dishonored  the  character  and  authority  of 
those  to  whom  the  administration  of  the  Church  was  committed.  For,  though 
several  yet  continued  to  exhibit  to  the  world  illustrative  examples  of  primitive 
piety  and  Christian  virtue,  yet  many  were  sunk  in  luxury  and  voluptuousness, 
puffed  up  with  vanity,  arrogance  and  ambition,  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  con- 
tention and  discord,  and  addicted  to  many  other  vices  that  cast  an  undeserved 
reproach  upon  the  holy  religion  of  which  they  were  the  unworthy  professors  and 
ministers.  This  is  testified  in  such  an  ample  manner  by  the  repeated  com- 
plaints of  many  of  the  most  respectable  writers  of  this  age,  that  truth  will  not 
permit  us  to  spread  the  veil,  which  we  should  otherwise  be  desirous  to  cast  over 
such  enormities  among  an  order  so  sacred.  The  bishops  assumed  in  many 
places  a  princely  authority,  particularly  those  who  had  the  greatest  number  of 
churches  under  their  inspection,  and  who  presided  over  the  most  opulent  as- 
semblies. They  appropriated  to  their  evangelical  function  the  splendid  ensigns 
of  temporal  majesty.  A  throne,  surrounded  with  ministers,  exalted  above  his 
equals  the  servant  of  the  meek  and  humble  Jesus;  and  sumptuous  garments 
dazzled  the  eyes  and  the  minds  of  the  multitude  into  an  ignorant  veneration 
of  their  arrogated  authority.  The  example  of  the  bishops  was  ambitiously 
imitated  by  the  presbyters,  who,  neglecting  the  sacred  duties  of  their  station, 
abandoned  themselves  to  the  indolence  and  delicacy  of  an  effeminate  and  luxur- 
ious life.  The  deacons,  beholding  the  presbyters  deserting  thus  their  func- 
tions, boldly  usurped  their  rights  and  privileges,  and  the  effects  of  a  corrupt 
ambition  were  spread  through  every  rank  of  the  order  sacred." — (Mosheim, 
"Ecclesiastical  History,"  Cent.  Ill,  Part  II,  ch.  2:3,  4.) 


JUDAISTIC  PERVERSIONS.  73 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Internal  Causes.  —  Continued. 

1.  First  among  the  specific  causes  of  disturbance  operating 
within  the  Church,  and  contributing  to  its  apostasy,  we  have 
named:  "The  corrupting  of  the  simple  principles  of  the  gospel  by 
the  admixture  of  the  so-called  philosophic  systems  of  the  times." 

2.  The  attempted  grafting  of  foreign  doctrines  on  the  true 
vine  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  characteristic  of  the  early  years 
of  the  apostolic  period.    We  read  of  the  sorcerer  ^Simon,  who  pro- 
fessed belief  and  entered  the  Church  by  baptism,  but  who  was  so 
devoid  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  gospel  that  he  sought  to  purchase 
by  money  the  authority  and  power  of  the  priesthood.  —  (See 
Acts  8:9,  13,  18-24.)    This  man,  though  rebuked  by  Peter,  and 
apparently  penitent,  continued  to  trouble  the  Church,  by  incul- 
cating heresies  and  winning  disciples  within  the  fold.     His 
followers  were  distinguished  as  a  sect  or  cult  down  to  the  fourth 
century;  and,  writing  at  that  time,  Eusebius  says  of  them: 
"These,  after  the  manner  of  their  founder,  insinuating  them- 
selves into  the  Church,  like  a  pestilential  and  leprous  disease, 
infected  those  with  the  greatest  corruption,  into  whom  they 
were    able    to    infuse    their    secret,    irremediable,    and    de- 
structive poison."  —  (Eusebius,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Book 
II,  ch.  1.)     This  Simon,  known  in  history  as 


referred  to  by  early  Christian  writers,  as  the  founder  of  heresy, 
owing  to  his  persistent  attempts  to  combine  Christianity  with 
Gnosticism.  It  is  with  reference  to  his  proposition  to  purchase 
spiritual  authority  that  all  traffic  in  spiritual  offices  has  come 
to  be  known  as  simony. 

3.  Through  the  mouth  of  the  Revelator,  the  Lord  reproved 
certain  of  the  churches  for  their  adoption  or  toleration  of  doc- 
trines and  practices  alien  to  the  gospel.    Notably  is  this  the  case 
with  respect  to  the  Nicolaitanes,  and  the  followers  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Balaam.  —  (See  Rev.  2:15;  compare  verse  6;  see  also 
verse  20.    See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 

4.  The  perversion  of  true  theology  thus  developed  within 
the  Church  is  traceable  to  the  introduction  of  both  Judaistic  and 
pagan  fallacies.  —  (See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter.)     Indeed,  at  the 
opening  of  the  Christian  era  and  for  centuries  thereafter,  Juda- 
ism was  more  or  less  intimately  mixed  with  pagan  philosophy, 


Xl^rW+jL**  -- 


74  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

and  contaminated  with  heatnen  ceremonies.  There  were  num- 
erous sects  and  parties,  cults  and  schools,  each  advocating  rival 
theories  as  to  the  constitution  of  the  soul,  the  essence  of  sin,  the 
nature  of  Deity,  and  a  multitude  of  other  mysteries.  The 
Christians  were  soon  embroiled  in  endless  controversies  among 
themselves. 

5.  Judaistic  converts  to  Christianity  sought  to  modify  and 
adapt  the  tenets  of  the  new  faith  so  as  to  harmonize  them  with 
tfieir  inherited  love  of  Judaism,  and  the  result  was  destructive 
to  both.     Our  Lord  had  indicated  the  futility  of  any  such  at- 
tempts  to   combine   new  principles  with   old   systems,   or   to 
patch  up  the  prejudices  of  the  past  with  fragments  of  new  doc^ 
trine.  (_^No  man/'  said  He,'  "putteth  a  piece  of  new  cloth  unto 

^^     an  old  garment,  for  that  which  is  put  in  to  fill  it  up  taketh  from, 
the  garment,  and  the  rent  is  made  worse.    Neither  do  men  put 
new  wine  into  old  bottles:  else  the  bottles  break,  and  the  wine 
runneth  out,  and  the  bottles  perish:  but  they  put  new  wine  into  . 
new   bottles,    and   both   are   preserved." — (Matt.    9:16,    17.)  / 
The  gospel  came  as  a  new  revelation,  marking  the  fulfilment  of 
the  law,  it  was  no  mere  addendum,  nor  was  it  a  simple  re- 
enactment  of  past  requirements;  it  embodied  a  new  and  an 
everlasting  covenant.     Attempts  to  patch  the  Judaistic  robe 
with  the  new  fabric  of  the  gospel  could  result  in  nothing  more 
sightly  than  a  hideous  rent.  The  new  wine  of  the  covenant  could 
not  be  bottled  in  the  time-eaten  leathern  containers  of  Mosaic 
libations.    Judaism  was  belittled  and  Christianity  perverted  by 
the  incongruous  association. 

6.  Among  the  early  and  most  pernicious  adulterations  of 
Christian  doctrine  is  the  introduction  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Gnostics.    These  self-styled  philosophers  put  forth  the  boastful 
claim  that  they  were  able  to  lead  the  human  mind  to  a  full  com- 

/  ^/prehension  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
A^/relationship  between  Deity  and  mortals.  They  said  in  effect 
jY  that  a  certain  being  had  existed  from  all  eternity,  manifested 
JJ/  as  aj^dianj;  light  diffused  throughout  space,  and  this  they  called 

f          tl! 


Pleroma^\  "The  eternal  nature,  infinitely  perfect  and  infin- 
^     itely  happy,  having  dwelt  from  everlasting  in  a  profound  soli- 
tude,' and  in  a  blessed  tranquillity  produced  at  length  from  it- 
self, two  minds  of  a  different  sex,  which  resembled  their  supreme 
parent  in  the  most  perfect  manner.    From  the  prolific  union  of 


JUDAISTIC  PERVERSIONS.  \  75 

these  two  beings,  others  arose,  which  were  also  jollowed  by  suc- 
ceeding generations;  so  that  in  process  of  lime  a  celestial 
family  was  formed  in  the  Pleroma.  This  div/ne  progeny,  im- 
mutable in  its  nature,  and  above  the  power/of  mortality,  was 
called,  by  the  philosophers,  Aeon- — a  term/which  signifies,  in 
the  Greek  language,  an  eternal  nature.  How  many  in  number 
these  Aeons  were  was  a  point  much  controverted  among  the 
oriental  sages." — (Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical  History,"  Cent.  I, 
Part  II,  1:7.)  7 

7.  Then  one  of  the  Aeons,  distinctively  called  the  Demi- 
urge,  created  this  world,   ano^/arrogantly  asserted  dominion 
over  the  same,  denying  absolutely  the  authority  of  the  supreme 
parent.    The  Gnostic  dopfcfme  declares  man  to  be  a  union  of  the 
body,  which,  being^tkecreation  of  the  Demiurge,  is  essentially 
evil,  and  a  spirijU^hich.  being  derived  from  Deity,  is  character- 
istically gpj0d7    The  spirits  thus  imprisoned  in  evil  bodies  will 
be  finally  liberated,  and  then  the  power  of  the  Demiurge  will 
cease^  and  the  earth  will  be  dissolved  into  nothingness. 
/    8.  Our  justification  for  introducing  here  this  partial  sum- 
/mary  of  Gnosticism  is  the  fact  that  early  efforts  were  made  to 
/  accommodate  the  tenets  of  this  system  to  the  demands  of  Chris- 
tianity; and  that  Christ  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were  declared  to 
V  belong  to  the-famjly  of  Aeons  provided  for  in  this  scheme.    This 
X£d  to  the  i^traVagant  absurdity  of  denying  that  Jesus  had  a 
bb4jLeyen  whIIe~He  lived  as  a  man;  and  that  His  appearance  as 
a  corporeal  being  was  a  deception  of  the  senses  wrought  by  His 
supernatural  power. —  (See  Note  3,  end  of  chapter.) 

9.  That  the  doctrines  of  the  Gnostics  were  unsatisfying 
even  to  those  who  professed  to  believe  therein  is  evident  from 
the  many  cults  and  parties  that  came  into  existence  as  subdivi- 
sions of  the  main  sect ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  modern 
times  certain  free-thinkers  have  prided  themselves  in  assuming 
a  title  expressing  the  full  antithesis  of  the  name  Gnostics,  viz. 
Agnostics. 

10.  The  practical  effect  of  the  principles  of  Gnosticism  in 
the  lives  of  its  adherents  is  strangely  diverse.  One  division  of  the 
sect  followed  a  life  of  austerity;  embracing  rigorous  self-denial, 
and  bodily  torture,  in  the  vain  belief  that  the  malignant  body" 
could  thus  be  subdued,  while  the  spirit  would  be  given  added 
power  and  increased  freedom.     Another  cult  sought  to  mini- 


76  ,  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

mize  the  fundamental  difference  between  right  and  wrong;  by 
denying  the  element  of  morality  in  human  life;  and  these 
abandoned  themselves  to  the  impulses  of  the  passions  and  the 
frailties  of  the  bodily  nature  without  restraint,  on  the  assump- 
tion that  there  was  no  such  relation  between  body  and  soul  as 
would  cause  injury  to  the  latter  through  bodily  indulgences 
and  excesses. 

11.  Another  sect  or  school  whose  doctrines  were  in  a  meas- 
ure amalgamated  with  those  of  Christianity  was  that  of  the 
New  Platonics.     The  ancient  sects  of  Platonists  or  Platonics 
were  allied  in  some  points  of  doctrine  with  the  Epicureans,  and 
were  rivals  if  not  opponents  of  the  Stoics,.    The  early  Platonics 
held  that  unorganized  matter  has  existed  from  all  eternity,  and 
that  its  organizer,  God,  is  similarly  eternal.   As  God  is  eternal, 
so  also  His  will  or  intelligence  is  without  beginning,  and  this 
eternal  intelligence  existing  as  the  will  or  intent  of  Deity,  was 
called  the  LOCJOS.     Such  precepts  had  been  taught  long  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  the  philosophy  professed  by  some  of  the 
contending  sects  among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ  had  been 
influenced  thereby. 

12.  As  the   principles   of   Christianity  became   generally 
known,  certain  leaders  in  the  sect  of  Platonics  found  in  the  new 
doctrine  much  to  study  and  admire.     By  this  time,  however, 
Platonism  itself  had  undergone  much  change,  and  the  more 
liberal  adherents  had  formed  a  new  organization  and  distin- 
guished themselves  by  the  appellation  New  Platonics.     These 
professed  to  find  in  Jesus  Christ  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos, 
and  accepted  with  avidity  the  declaration  of  St.  John:  "In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God.  *  *  *  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh/  and  dwelt 
among  us." — (John  1:1,   14.)     According  to  the  Eclectic  or 
New  Platonic  philosophy,  the  "Word"  referred  to  by  St.  John 
was  the  "Logos"  described  by  Plato. 

13.  The  Platonic  conception  of  the  Godhead  as  consisting 
of  the  Deity  and  the  Logos,  was  enlarged  in  accordance  with 
Christian  tenets  to  embrace  three  members,  the  Holy  Ghost  be- 
ing the  third.    Thence  arose  bitter  and  lasting  dissension  as  to 
the  relative  powers  of  each  member  of  the  Trinity,  particularly 
the  position  and  authority  of  the  Logos  or  Son.    The  many  dis- 
putes incident  to  the  admixture  of  Platonic  theory  with  Chris- 


PLATONISM.  77 

tian  doctrine  continued  through  the  centuries,  and  in  a  sense 
may  be  said  to  trouble  the  minds  of  men  even  in  this  modern 
age. 

14.  It  is  wholly  beyond  our  purpose  to  classify  or  describe 
the  hybrid  offspring  resulting  from  the  unnatural  union  of  pagan 
philosophy  and  Christian  truth;  nor  shall  we  attempt  to  follow  in 
detail  the  dissensions  and  quarrels  on  theological  points  and 
questions  of  doctrine.    Our  purpose  is  achieved  when  by  state- 
ment of  fact  and  citation  of  authority,  the  reality  of  thje_a£os^ 
tasy  is  established.    We  shall  consider  therefore  only  the  most 
important  o'l  the  dissensions  by  which  the  Church  was  troubled. 

—  (See  Note  4,  end  of  chapter.) 

15.  About  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  Sibellius.  a  pres- 
byter or  bishop  of  the  church  in  Africa,  strongly  advocated  the 
doctrine  of  "trinity  in  unity "  as  characterizing  the  Godhead. 
He  claimed  that  the  divine  nature  of  Christ  was  no  distinct  nor 
personal  attribute  of  the  man  Jesus,  but  merely  a  portion  of  the 
divine  energy,  an  emanation  from  the  Father,  with  which  the 

"Son  was  temporarily  endowed;  and  that  in  like  manner  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  a  part  of  the  divine  Father.  These  views  were  as 
vigorously  opposed  by  some  as  defended  by  others,  and  the 
disagreement  was  rife  when  Constantine  so  suddenly  changed 
the  status  of  the  Church,  and  brought  to  its  support  the  power  of 
the  state.  Early  in  the  fourth  century  the  dispute  assumedji 
threatening  aspect  in  a  bitter  contention  between  (STexan< 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  andQAriuj^  une  uf  Ifre'subordinate  officers 
of  the  same  church.  Alexander  proclaimed  that  the  Son  was  in 
all  respects  the  equal  of  the  Father,  and  also  of  the  same  sub- 
stance or  essence.  Arius  insisted  that  the  Son  had  been  created 
by  the  Father,  and  therefore  could  not  be  co-eternal  with  His 
divine  Parent;  that  the  Son  was  the  agent  through  whom  the 
will  of  the  Father  was  executed,  and  that  for  this  reason  also 
the  Son  was  inferior  to  the  Father  both  in  nature  and  dignity. 
In  like  manner  the  Holy  Ghost  was  inferior  to  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Godhead. 

16.[Arianism^  as  the  doctrine  came  to  be  known,  was 
preached  with  vigor  and  denounced  with  energy;  and  the  dis- 
sension thus  occasioned  threatened  to  rend  the  Church  to  its 
foundation.  At  last  the  emperor,  Constantine,  was  forced  to 
intervene  in  an  effort  to  establish  peace  among  his  contending 


78  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

churchmen.  He  summoned  a  council  of  church  dignitaries 
which  assembled  in  the  year_325._and  which  is  known  from 
its  place  of  session  as  the  Council  of  Nice.  This  council  con- 
demned the  doctrine  of  Arius,  and  pronounced  sentence  of 
banishment  against  its  author.  What  was  declared  to  be  the 
orthodox  doctrine  of  the  universal  or  Catholic  church  respecting 
the  Godhead  was  promulgated  as  follows: 

17.  "We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father,  Almighty,  the 
maker  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible;  and  in  one  Lord,  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  begotten  of  the  Father,  only  begotten, 
(that  is)  of  the  substance  of  the  Father;  God  of  God,  Light  of 
Light;  Very  God  of  Very  God;  begotten  not  made;  of  the  same 
substance  with  the  Father,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  that 
are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth:  who  for  us  men,  and  for  our 
salvation,   descended  and  was  incarnate,   and  became  man; 
suffered  and  rose  again  the  third  day,  ascended  into  the  heavens 
and  will  come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead;  and  in  the  Holy 
Spirit.    But  those  who  say  there  was  a  time  when  he  [the  Son] 
was  not,  and  that  he  was  not  before  he  was  begotten,  and  that  he 
was  made  out  of  nothing,  or  affirm  that  he  is  of  any  other  sub- 
stance or  essence,  or  that  the  Son  of  God  was  created,  and 
mutable,  or  changeable,  the  Catholic  Church  doth  pronounce 
accursed." 

18.  This  is  the  generally  accepted  version  of  the  Nicene 
Creed  as  originally  promulgated.  In  form  it  was  somewhat  modi- 
fied, though  left  practically  unchanged  as  to  essentials,  by  the 
council  held  at  Constantinople  half  a  century  later.    What  is 
regarded  as  arestatement  of  the  Nicene  Creed  has  been  attribut- 
ed toffithanasiuSijone  of  the  chief  opponents  of  Arianism,  though 
his  rights  to  be  considered  the   author  is  questioned  by  many 
and  emphatically  denied  by  some  authorities  on  ecclesiastical 
history.     Nevertheless,  the  statement  referred  to  has  found  a 
place  in  literature  as  the  "Creed  of  Athanasius,"  and  whether 
rightly  or  wrongly  named  it  persists  as  a  declaration  of  belief 
professed  by  some  Christian  sects  today.    It  has  a  present  place 
in  the  prescribed  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England.    The  "Creed 
of  Athanasius"  reads  as  follows: 

/*""  19.  "We  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trinity  in  Unity, 
/  neither  confounding  the  persons,  nor  dividing  the  substance. 
(  For  there  is  one  person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the  Son,  and 


THE  NICENE  CREED.  79 

another  of  the  Holy  Ghost.    But  the  Godhead  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  is  all  one:  the  glory  equal,  the  majesty 
co-eternal.    Such  as  the  Father  is,  such  is  the  Son;  and  such  is 
the  Holy  Ghost.    The  Father  uncreate,  the  Son  uncreate  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  uncreate.     The  Father  incomprehensible,  the  Son 
incomprehensible  and  the  Holy  Ghost  incomprehensible.     The 
Father   eternal,    the    Son   eternal,    the    Holy    Ghost    eternal. 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  eternals;  but  one  eternal.    As  also 
there  are  not  three  incomprehensibles,  nor  three  uncreated; 
but  one  uncreated,  and  one  incomprehensible.    So  likewise  the 
Father   is  Almighty,  the  Son  Almighty,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
Almighty;  and  yet  there  are  not  three  Almighties,  but  one 
Almighty.    So  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  God,  and  yet  they  are  not  three  Gods  but  one  God." 
""      20.  The  Council  of  Nice  is  known  in  ecclesiastical  history 
as  one  of  the  most  famous  and  important  gatherings  ever  assem- 
bled as  an  official  body  concerned  with  church  administration. 
Not  only  was  the  Arian  dispute  disposed  of,  so  far  as  ecclesiasti- 
cal decree  could  dispose  of  a  question  vitally  affecting  the  in- 
divio!uat^cbnscience,_but  many  other  subjects  of  controversy  /\  / 
were  similarly  quieted  for  the  time.   Thus  the  long-standing  dis- 
pute as  to  the  time  of  eel ebratingJE aster  was  settled  by  vote,  as 
was  also  the  question  agitated  by"Rovalus  and  his  followers — 
as  to  the  propriety  of  re-admitting  repentant  apostates  to  the 
Church;  and  the  schism  caused  by  Meletius,  a  bishop  of  Upper 
Africa,  who  had  refused  to  recognize  the  superior  authority  of 
the  bishop  of  Alexandria.  From  the  number  arid  diversity  of  the 
questions  brought  before  the  Nicene  Council  for  adjudication, 
we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  newly  enthroned  Church  was 
not  characterized  by  unity  of  purpose  nor  harmony  of  action. 
However,  compared  with  the  bitter  contentions  that  follow,  the 
dissensions  in  the  reign  of  Constantine  were  but  as  the  begin- 
nings of  trouble. 

21.  The  moral  effect  of  the  potent  spirit  of  apostasy  oper- 
ating through  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Church's  existence 
and  nourished  by  the   contributions  of   heathen   philosophy, 
proved,  as  was  inevitable,  highly  injurious  and  evil.    Some  of  the 
most  pernicious  of  these  effects  it  becomes  our  duty  to  consider. 

22.  Perverted  Views  of  Life.     One  of  the  heresies  of  early 
origin  and  rapid  growth  in  the  Church  was  the  doctrine  of  antag- 


80  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

onism  between  body  and  spirit,  whereby  the  former  was  re- 
garded as  an  incubus  and  a  curse.  From  what  has  been  said  this 
will  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  perversions  derived  from  the 
alliance  of  Gnosticism  with  Christianity.  A  result  of  this  graft- 
ing in  of  heathen  doctrines  was  an  abundant  growth  of  hermit 
practices,  by  which  men  sought  to  weaken,  torture,  and  subdue 
their  bodies,  that  their  spirits  or  ' 'souls"  might  gain  greater 
freedom.  Many  who  adopted  this  unnatural  view  of  human 
existence  retired  to  the  solitude  of  the  desert,  and  there  spent 
their  time  in  practices  of  stern  self-denial  and  in  acts  of  frenzied 
self-torture.  Others  shut  themselves  up  as  voluntary  prisoners, 
seeking  glory  in  privation  and  self-imposed  penance.  It  was  this 
unnatural  view  of  life  that  gave  rise  to  the  several  orders  of 
recluses,  hermits  and  monks. 

23.  Think  you  not  that  the  Savior  had  such  practices  in 
mind,  when,  warning  the  disciples  of  the  false  claims  to  sanctity 

..that  would  characterize  the  times  then  soon  to  follow,  He  said: 
"Wherefore  if  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Behold  he  (Christ)  is 
Jt/Jl  in  the  desert;  go  not  forth:  behold,  he  is  in  the  secret  chambers; 
believe  it  not."— (Matt.  24:26.) 

24.  When  the  Church  came  into  the  favor  of  the  state  under 
Constantine  in  the  fourth  century,  there  sprang  up  many  orders 
of  recluses  who  "maintained  that  communion  with  God  was  to 
be  sought  by  mortifying  sense,  by  withdrawing  the  mind  from 
all  external  objects,  by  macerating  the  body  with  hunger  and 
labor,  and  by  a  holy  sort  of  indolence,  which  confined  all  the 
activity  of  the  soul  to  a  lazy  contemplation  of  things  spiritual 
and  external."     Mosheim,  the  author  just  quoted,   continues: 
"The  Christian  church  would  never  have  been  disgraced  by 
this  cruel  and  unsocial  enthusiasm,  nor  would  any  have  been 
subjected  to  those  keen  torments  of  mind  and  body  to  which  it 
gave  rise,  had  not  many  Christians  been  unwarily  caught  by 
the  specious  appearance  and  the  pompous  sound  of  that  maxim 
of  the  ancient  philosophy:  'That  in  order  to  the  attainment  of 
true  felicity  and  communion  with  God,  it  was  necessary  that  the 
soul  should  be  separated  from  the  body,  even  here  below;  and 
that  the  body  was  to  be  macerated  and  mortified  for  this  pur- 
pose.' "—(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  IV,  Part  II,  ch.  3:12, 
13.) 

25.  The  fruit  of  this  ill-sowing  was  the  growth  of  numer- 


NOTES.  81 

ous  orders  of  monks,   and  the  maintenance  of  monasteries. 
Celibacy  was  taught  as  a  virtue,  and  came  to  be  made  a  require- 
ment  ol  the  clergy,  as  it  is  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  to-day. 
An  unmarried  clergy,  deprived  of  the  elevating  influences  of 
home  life,  fell  into  many  excesses,  and  the  corruption  of  the 
priests  has  been  a  theme  of  reproach  throughout  the  centuries. 
"The  Lord  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should  be  alone; 
I  will  make  him  an  help  meet  .for  him," — (Gen.  2:18.)  and  V 
again,  "Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,    ' 
and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife:  and  they  shall  be  one  flesh. "- 
(Verse  24.)  His  inspired  apostle  proclaimed:  "Neither  is  the 
man  without  the  woman,  neither  the  woman  without  the  man, 
^    in  the  Lord."— (I  Cor.  11:11.    Compare  I  Tim.  4:3.)    Never-  Y 
Vtheless  an  apostate  church  decrees  that  its  ministers  shall  be 
1   lorbidden  to  follow  the  law  of  God. 

26.  Disregard  for  Truth.  As  early  as  the  fourth  century,  cer- 
tain pernicious  doctrines  embodying  a  disregard  for  truth  gained      ^ 
currency  in  the  Church.    Thus,  it  was  taught  "that  it  was  an 
act  of  virtue  to  deceive  and  lie,  when  by  that  means  the  interests     , 
of_thp  o.hiirch  might  be  promoted." — (Mosheim,  "Eccl.  HTst.,7' 
Cent.  IV,  Part  II,  ch.  3:16.)    Needless  to  say,  sins  other  than 
those  of  falsehood  and  deceit  were  justified  when  committed 
in  the  supposed  interests  of  church  advancement,  and  crime  was 
condoned   under   the  specious   excuse   that  the   end  justifies 
the  means.    Many  of  the  fables  and  fictitious  stories  relating  to 
the  lives  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  as  also  the  spurious  accounts 
of  supernatural  visitations  and  wonderful  miracles,  in  which  the^L 
literature  of  the  early,  centuries  aDouna,  are  traceable  to  this        4 
infamous  doctrine  that  lies  are  acceptable  unto  God  if  perpe- 
trated in  a  cause  that  man  calls  good. —  (See  Note  5,  end  of 
chapter. ) 

NOTES. 

1.  The  Nicolaitanes.  This  sect  is  mentioned  specifically  in  the  divine  com- 
munication wherein  John  the  Revelator  was  instructed  to  write  to  the  churches 
of  Asia  (Rev.  2:6,  15);  and  the  reference  proves  the  abhorrence  with  which  the 
Lord  regarded  the  teachings  and  practices  of  the  cult.  The  attempt  to  corrupt 
Christianity  by  the  introduction  of  Nicolaitan  ceremonies  was  a  real  danger 
threatening  the  Church.  The  following  extract  from  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary 
is  instructive: 

"The  sect  itself  comes  before  us  as  presenting  the  ultimate  phase  of  a 


82      V  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 


great  controversy,  which  threatened  at  one  time  to  destroy  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  and  afterward  to  taint  its  purity.  The  controversy  itself  was  inevitable 
as  soon  as  the  Gentiles  were  admitted  in  any  large  numbers  into  the  Church  of 
Christ  —  Were  the  new  converts  to  be  brought  into  subjugation  to  the  whole 
"Mosaic  law?  The  apostles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem  met  the  question  calmly 
and  wisely.  The  burden  of  the  Law  was  not  to  be  imposed  on  the  Gentile 
disciples.  They  were  to  abstain,  among  other  things,  from  'meats  offered  to 
idols,'  and  from  'fornication'  (Acts  15:20,  29),  and  this  decree  was  welcomed 
as  the  great  charter  of  the  Chul'Lh'i)  TiLcduiih-  Strange  as  the  close  union  of  the 
moral  and  positive  commands  may  seem  to  us,  it  did  not  seem  so  to  the  synod 
at  Jerusalem.  The  two  sins  were  very  closely  allied,  often  even  in  the  closest 
proximity  of  time  and  place.  The  messages  to  the  churches  of  Asia,  and  the 
later  Apostolic  Epistles  (II  Peter,  and  Jude,)  indicate  that  the  two  evils  ap- 
peared at  that  period  also  in  close  alliance.  The  teachers  of  the  Church  brand- 
ed them  with  a  name  that  expressed  their  true  character.  The  men  who  did 
and  taught  such  things  were  followers  of  Balaam  (II  Peter  2:15;  Jude  II.) 
They,  like  the  false  prophet  of  Pethor,  united  brave  words  with  evil  deeds. 
In  a  time  of  persecution,  when  the  eating  or  not  eating  of  things  sacrificed  to 
idols  was  more  than  ever  a  crucial  test  of  faithfulness,  they  persuaded  men 
more  than  ever  that  it  was  a  thing  indifferent  (Rev.  2:13,  14).  This  .was  bad 
enough,  but  there  was  a  yet  worse  evil.  Mingling  themselves  in  the  orgies  of 
idolatrous  feasts,  they  brought  the  impurities  of  those  feasts  into  the  meetings 
of  the  Christian  Church.  And  all  this  was  done,  it  must  be  remembered,  not 
simply  as  an  indulgence  of  appetite,  but  as  part  of  a  system  supported  by  a 
'doctrine,'  accompanied  by  the  boast  of  a  prophetic  illumination  (II  Peter  2:1)." 

i         2.  Imitation  of  Heathen  Mysteries,  and  the  Result.  The  worship  of  God  by 

/the  early  Christians  was  decried  and  ridiculed  because  of  its  simplicity  and  the 

absence  of  mystic  ceremonies.    True,  the  zeal  of  persecutors  soon  made  neces- 

sary a  prudent  secrecy  in  religious  service  and  worshipping  assemblies,  but, 

aside  from  sudTnecessity,  there  was  a  voluntary  effort  to 


___ 

was  uncalled  for.  On  this  point  Gibbon  remarks  as  follows:  "The  precautions 
with  which  the  disciples  of  Christ  performed  the  offices  of  religion  were  at  first 
dictated  by  fear  and  necessity;  but  they  were  continued  from  choice.  By 
imitating  the  awful  secrecy  of  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  the  Christians  had 
flattered  themselves  that  they  shoulcf  render  tneir  sacred  institutions  more  re- 
spectable in  the  eyes  of  the  pagan  world.  But  the  event,  as  it  often  happens 
to  the  operations  of  subtle  policy,  deceived  their  wishes  and  their  expectations. 
It  was  concluded  that  they  only  concealed  what  they  would  have  blushed  to 
disclose.  Their  mistaken  prudence  afforded  an  opportunity  for  malice  to  invent, 
and  for  suspicious  credulity  to  believe,  the  horrid  tales  which  described  the 
Christians  as  the  most  wicked  of  human  kind,  who  practiced  in  their  dark 
recesses  every  abomination  that  a  depraved  fancy  could  suggest,  and  who 
solicited  the  favor  of  their  unknown  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  every  moral  virtue. 
There  were  many  who  pretended  to  confess  or  to  relate  the  ceremonies  of  this 
abhorred  society."  —  (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  chap. 
XVI.) 

3.  Ebionites  and  Gnostics.  "Beside  the  general  design  of  fixing  on  a  per- 
petual basis  the  divine  honors  of  Christ,  the  most  ancient  and  respectable  of 
the  ecclesiastical  writers  have  ascribed  to  the  evangelic  theologian  [St.  John] 


NOTES.  83 

a  particular  intention  to  confute  two  opposing  heresies,  which  disturbed  the 
peace  of  the  primitive  Church.  I.  The  faith  of  the  EbiojiiteSr-  perhaps  of  the 
Nazarenes,  was  gross  and  imperfect.  They  revered  Jesus  as  the  greatest  of  the 
prophets,  endowed  with  supernatural  virtue  and  power.  They  ascribed  to  His 
person  and  to  His  future  reign  all  the  predictions  of  the  Hebrew  oracles  which 
relate  to  the  spiritual  and  everlasting  kingdom  of  the  promised  Messiah.  Some 
of  them  might  confess  that  He  was  born  of  a  virgin;  but  they  obstinately  re- 
jected the  preceding  existence  and  divine  perfections  of  the  Logos,  or  Son  of 
y  God,  which  are  so  clearly  defined  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  ***!!.  The 
Gnostics,  who  were  distinguished  by  the  epithet  of  Docetes,  deviated  into  the 

i,  contrary  extreme,  and  betrayed  the  human  while  they  asserted  the  divine, 
nature  of  Christ.  Educated  in  the  school  of  Plato,  accustomed  to  the  sublime 

L-  idea  of  the  Logos,  they  readily  conceived  that  the  brightest  Aeon  or  Emana- 
tion of  Deity,  might  assume  the  outward  shape  and  visible  appearance  of  a 
mortal;  but  they  vainly  pretended  that  the  imperfections  of  matter,  are  in- 
compatible with  the  purity  of  a  celestial  substance.  While  the  blood  of  Christ 
yet  smoked  on  Mount  Calvary,  and  the  Docetes  invented  the  impious  and  ex- 
travagant hypothesis  that,  instead  of  issuing  from  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  he 
had  descended  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  in  the  from  of  perfect  manhood; 
that  he  had  imposed  on  the  senses  of  His  enemies  and  of  His  disciples,  and  that 
the  ministers  of  Pilate  had  wasted  their  impotent  rage  on  an  airy  phantom,  who 
seemed  to  expire  on  the  Cross,  and,  after  three  days,  to  rise  from  the  dead." — 
(Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall  or  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XXI.) 

fo  .jr*  4.  Admixture  of  Pagan  Doctrines  With  Christianity.  The  following  state- 
i/'  laments  by  modern  writers  as  to  the  effect  of  pagan  "philosophy"  on  the  Church 
.yb  are  worthy  of  attention.  Summarizing  conditions  prevailing  in  the  latter  part 
Er  of  the  second  century,  Milner  says:  "We  have  hitherto  found  it  no  hard  matter 
to  discover,  in  the  teachers  and  writers  of  Christianity,  the  vital  doctrines  of 
Christ.  We  shall  now  perceive  that  the  most  precious  truths  of  the  gospel  begin 
to  be  less  attended  to,  and  less  brought  to  view.  Even  Justin  Martyr,  before 
the  period  of  eclectic  corruption,  by  his  fondness  for  Plato,  adulterated  the 
gospel  in  some  degree,  as  we  have  observed  particularly  in  the  article  of  free  will. 
Tatian,  his  scholar,  went  bolder  lengths,  and  deserved  the  name  of'  heretic. 
He  dealt  largely  in  the  merits  of  continence  and  chastity;  and  these  virtues, 
pushed  into  extravagant  excesses,  under  the  notion  of  superior  purity,  became 
great  engines  of^ self-righteousness  and  superstition;  obscured  men's  views  of 
the  faith  of  Christ,  and  darkened  the  whole  face  of  Christianity.  Under  the 
fostering  hand  of  Ammonius  and  his  followers,  this  fictitious  holiness  disguised 
under  the  appearance  of  eminent  sanctity,  was  formed  into  a  system;  and  it 
soon  began  to  generate  the  worst  of  evils.  *  *  *  St.  Paul's  caution  against 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  it  appears,  was  now  fatally  neglected  by  the  Chris- 
tians. I  False  humility,  'Will-worship,'  (curious  and  proud  refinements,  bodily 
austerities  mixed  ^witn  High,  selr-righteous  prehensions,  ignorance  of  Christ 
and  of  the  true  life  of  faith  in  Him,  miserably  superseded  by  ceremonies  and 
superstitions, — all  these  things  are  divinely  delineated  in  the  second  chapter 
to  the  Colossians;  and,  so  far  as  words  can  do  it,  the  true  defense  against  them 
is  powerfully  described  and  enforced." — (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent. 
II,  ch.  9.) 

"The  schisms  and  commotions  that  arose  in  the  church,  from  a  mixture 


84  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

of  the  oriental  and  Egyptian  philosophy  with  the  Christian  religion  were,  in 
the  second  century,  increased  by  those  Grecian  philosophers  who  embraced  the 
doctrine  of  Christ.  The  Christian  doctrine,  concerning  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  and  the  two  natures  united  in  our  blessed  Savior,  were  by  no  means 
reconcilable  with  the  tenets  of  the  sages  and  doctors  of  Greece,  who  therefore 
endeavored  to  explain  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  them  comprehensible. 
_Praxeas,  a  man  of  genius  and  learning,  began  to  propagate  these  explications 
aFKome,  and  was  severely  persecuted  for  the  errors  they  contained.  He  denied 
any  real  distinction  between  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;  and  maintained 
that  the  Father,  sole  Creator  of  all  things7"had  uniteTT  to""Himself  the  human 
nature  of  Christ.  Hence  his  followers  were  called  Monarchians^  because  of 
their  denying  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the  Deity;  and  also  Patropassians,  be- 
cause, according  to  Tertullian's  account,  they  believed  that  tKe  £  ather  Was  so 
intimately  united  with  the  man  Christ,  His  Son,  that  He^  suffered  with  Him  the 
anguisLof  an  afflicted  life  and  the  torments  of  an[^^mimousjcleath.  However 
ready  many  may  have  been  to  embrace  this  erfoneous"  doctrine,  it  does  not 
appear  that  this  sect  formed  to  themselves  a  separate  place  of  worship,  or  re- 
moved themselves  from  the  ordinary  assemblies  of  Christians." — (Mosheim, 
"Ecclesiastical  History,"  Cent.  II,  Part  II,  ch.  5:20.) 

5.  Spurious  Writings  in  the  Apostolic  Period.  "Not  long  after  Christ's 
ascension  into  heaven,  several  histories  of  His  life  and  doctrines,  full  of  pious 
frauds  and  fabulous  wonders,  were  composed  by  persons  whose  intentions,  per- 
haps, were  not  bad,  but  whose  writings  discovered  the  greatest  superstition 
and  ignorance.  Nor  was  this  all:  productions  appeared  which  were  imposed 
upon  the  world  by  fraudulent  men,  as  the  writings  of  the  holy  apostles.  These 
apocryphal  and  spurious  writings  must  have  produced  a  sad  confusion,  and  ren- 
dered both  the  history  and  the  doctrine  of  Christ  uncertain,  had  not  the  rulers 
of  the  church  used  all  possible  care  and  diligence  in  separating  the  books  that 
were  truly  apostolical  and  divine  from  all  that  spurious  trash." — (Mosheim, 
"Ecclesiastical  History,"  Cent.  I,  Part  II,  ch.  2:17.) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Internal  Causes, — Continued. 

1.  As  one  of  the  effective  causes  leading  to  the  apostasy  of 
the  Primitive  Church  we  have  specified:  Unauthorized  addi- 
tions to  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  and  the  introduction  of  vital 
changes  in  essential  ordinances. 

2.  The  ridicule  heaped  upon  the  early  Church  by  the  pagans 


6  y 

INTERNAL  CAUSES.  85 

on  account  of  the  simplicity  of  Christian  worship  has  already  re- 
ceived mention.  This  cause  of  reproach  was  none  the  less  em- 
phasized by  Judaistic  critics,  to  whom  rituals  and  ceremony, 
formalism  and  prescribed  rites,  figured  as  essentials  of  religion. 
Verylarly  in  its  history,  the  Church  manifested  a  tendency  to 
supplant  the  pristine  simplicity  of  its  worship  by  elaborate 
ceremonies,  patterned  after  Judaistic  ritual  and  heathen  idol- 
atries. 

3.  As  to  such  innovations,  Mosheim  writes  as  follows,  with 
reference  to  conditions  existing  in  the  second  century:  "There 
is  no  institution  so  pure  and  excellent  which  the  corruption  and 
folly  of  man  will  not  in  time  alter  for  the  worse,  and  load  with 
additions  foreign  to  its  nature  and  original  design.     Such  in  a 
particular  manner  was  the  fate  of  Christianity.    In  this  century 
many  unnecessary  rites  and  ceremonies  were  added  to  the  Chris- 
tian worship,  the  introduction  of  which  was  extremely  offensive 
to  wise  and  good  men.    These  changes,  while  they  destroyed  the 
beautiful  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  were  naturally  pleasing  to  the 
gross  multitude,  who  are  more  delighted  with  the  pomp  and 
splendor  of  external  institutions  than  with  the  native  charms  of 
rational  and  solid  piety,  and  who  generally  give  little  attention 
to  any  objects  but  those  which  strike  their  outward  senses."— 
(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  CentJiPart  II,  ch.  4.)    The  author 

^  jnslfcited  explains  thaLOhe"JBishop^of  that  day  increased  the 
ceremonies  and  sought  to  givefhenfsplendor  "by  way  of  accom- 
modation to  the  infirmities  and  prejudices  of  both  Jews  and 
heathen." —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter. )  S^/P 

4.  To  more  effectually  reconcile  the  gospel  requiremefits^/T 
with  Jewish  prejudice,  which  still  clung  to  the  letter  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  the  officers  of  the  Church  in  the  first  and  second 
centuries  took  to  themselves  the  ancient  titles;  thus,  bishops 
styled   themselves   ^i^Prie&ts,    and   deacons,    Levites.    "In 
like  manner,"  says  I^osHeim,  "the  comparisoiTof  the  Christian 
oblation  with  the  Jewish  victim  and  sacrifice,  produced  a  mul- 
titude of  unnecessary  rites,  and  was  the  occasion  of  introducing 
that  erroneous  notion  of  the  eucharist,  which  represents  it  as  a 
real  sacrifice,  and  not  merely  as  a  commemoration  of  that  great 
offering  that  was  once  made  upon  the  cross  for  the  sins  of  mor- 
tals."—(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  II,  Part  II,  ch.  4:4.)    ' 

5.  In  the  fourth  century  we  find  the  Church  still  more  hope- 


THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

lessly  committed  to  formalism  and  superstition.     The  decent 
respect  with  which  the  remains  of  the  early  martyrs  had  been 
honored  degenerated  or  grew  into  a  superstitious  reverence 
amounting  to  worship.    This  practice  was  allowed  in  deference 
to  the  heathen  adoration  paid  to  deified  heroes.    Pilgrimages  to 
the  tombs  of  martyrs  became  common  as  an  outward  form  oF 
religious  devotion;  and  the  asji^s  of  martyrs  as  well  as  dust 
and  earth  brought  from  places  said  to  have  been  made  holy  by 
some  uncommon  occurrence  were  sold  as  sovereign  remedies^ 
against  disease  and  as  means  of  protection  against  the  assaults" 
of  malignant  spirits. 

6.  The  form  of  public  worship  was  so  changed  during  the 
second  and  third  centuries  as  to  bear  little  resemblance  to  the 
simplicity  and  earnestness  of  that  of  the  early  congregations. 
Philosophic  discourses  took  the  place  of  fervent  testimony  bear- 
ing and  the  arts  of  the  rhetorician  and  controversial  debater 
supplanted  the  true  eloquence  of  religious  conviction.    Applause^ 
was  allowed  and  expected  as  evidence  of  the  preacher's  popu- 
larity.    The  burning  incense,  at  first  abhorred  by  Christian 
assemblies  because  of  its  pagan  origin  and  heathen  significance, 
had  become  common  in  the  Church  before  the  end  of  the  third 
century. 

7.  In  the  fourth  century  the  adoration  of  images,  pictures, 
and  effigies,  had  been  given  a  place  in  the  so-called  Christian^ 
worship ;  and  the  practice  became  general  in  the  century  follow- 
ing.   An  effort  to  check  the  abuses  arising  from  this  idolatrous 
practice  in  the  eighth  century,  actually  led  to  civil  war. —  (See 
Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  VIII,  Part  II,  ch.  3:9,  10.) 

8.  In  considering  such  evidences  of  pagan  ceremonial  and 
superstitious  rites  taking  the  place  of  the  simple  procedure  inci- 
dent to  genuine  worship  characteristic  of  the  Church  in  the  days 
of  its  integrity,  who  can  question  the  solemn  and  awful  fact  of 
actual  apostasy? — (See  Note  2,  end  of  chapter.)     But  more 
important  yet,  more  significant  still  than  mere  additions  to  the 
ritualistic  ceremonial,  are  the  perversions  and  changes  intro- 
duced into  the  most  sacred  and  essential  ordinances  of  Christ's 
Church.    As  it  is  common  with  ecclesiastical  authorities  to  con- 
sider the  most  essential  ordinances  of  the  gospel  originally  es- 
tablished by  Christ  and  maintained  by  His  apostles,  as  com- 
prising baptism  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  we 


BAPTISMAL  ORDINANCE  CHANGED.  f  87     J 

shall  examine  into  these  alone  as  examples  of  the  unauthorized 
alterations  now  under  consideration.  In  this  restriction  of  our 
illustrative  examples  we  do  not  admit  that  baptism  and  the 
sacrament  named  were  the  only  ordinances  characterizing  the 
Church;  indeed,  there  is  abundant  proof  to  the  contrary.  Thus, 
the  authoritative  imposition  of  hands  for  the  bestowal  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  case  of  baptized  believers  was  equally  es- 
sential with  baptism  itself,— (See  Acts  8:5-8,  12,  14-17;  also 
19:1-7;  see  also  2:38;  Matt.  3:11;  and  Mark  1:8.)  and  was  as- 
suredly regarded  as  a  vital  ordinance  from  the  first. —  (See  Matt. 
3:11.)  Furthermore,  ordination  in  the  priesthood,  whereby  men 
were  commissioned  by  divine *  authority  was  indispensable  to 
the  maintenance  of  an  organized  Church.  The  examples  selected, 
however,will  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  our  present  inquiry. 

The  Ordinance  of  Baptism  Changed. 

9.  First,  then,  as  to  baptism, — in  what  did  the  ordinance 
originally  consist,  as  to  purpose  and  mode  of  administration, 
and  what  changes  did  it  undergo  in  the  course  of  progressive 
apostasy  through  which  the  Church  passed?    That  baptism  is 
essential  to  salvation  calls  for  no  demonstration  here;  this  has 
been  generally  held  by  the  Christian  Church  in  both  ancient 
and  modern  times. —  (For  a  concise  treatment  of  this  subject, 
see  the  author's  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  6:8-29.)    The  pur- 
pose of  baptism  was  and  is  the  obtaining  of  a  remission  of  sins; 
compliance  with   the  requirement  has  been  from  the  first  the 
sole  means  of  securing  admission  to  the  Church  of  Christ. — 
(See  Mark  1:4  and  Luke  3:3;  also  Acts  2:38;  I  Peter  3:21;  and 
Acts  22:16.    Compare  II  Nephi  31:17.) 

10.  In  the  early  Church,  baptism  was  administered  on  pro- 
fession of  faith  and  evidence  of  repentance,  and  was  performed 
by  immersion —  (See  Note  3,  end  of  chapter)  at  the  hands  of  one 
invested  with  the  requisite  authority  of  priesthood.    There  was 
no  delay  in  administering  the  ordinance  after  the  eligibility  of 
the  candidate  had  been  shown.    As  instances  we  may  cite  the 
promptness  with  which  baptism  was  administered  to  the  believ- 
ers on  that  eventful  day  of  Pentecost; — (Acts  2:37-41)  the 
baptism  administered  by  Philip  to  the  Ethiopian  convert  im- 
mediately following  due  profession  of  faith; — -(Acts  8:26-39) 
the  undelayed  baptism  of  devout  Cornelius  and  his  family; — 


88  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

(Acts  10:47,  48)  and  the  speedy  baptism  of  the  converted  jailer 
by  Paul,  his  prisoner. —  (Acts  16:31-33.) 
JJ      11.  In  the  second  century,  however,  priestly  mandate  had 

^/restricted  the  baptismal  ordinance  to  the  times  of  the  two 
Church  festivals,  Easter  and  Whitsuntide,  the  first  being  the 
anniversary  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  the  second  the  time 
of  Pentecostal  celebration.  A  long  and  tedious  course  of  prep- 
aration was  required  of  the  candidate  before  his  eligibility 
was  admitted;  during  this  time  he  was  known  as  a  catechumen, 
or  novice  in  training.  According  to  some  authorities  a  three 
year's  course  of  preparation  was  required  in  all  but  exceptional 
cases.— (Schlegel,  Book  VIII,  ch.  32.) 

12.  During  the  second  century  the  baptismal  symbolism  of 
a  new  birth  was  emphasized  by  many  additions  to  the  ordi- 
nance; thus  the  newly  baptized  were  treated  as  infants  and  were 
fed  milk_and  honey  in  token  of  their  immaturity.  As  baptism 
was  construed To^Be  a  ceremony  of  liberation  from  the  slavery  of 
Satan,  certain  formulas  used  in  the  freeing  of  slaves  were  added. 
Anointing  with  oil  was  also  made  a  part  of  the  ceremony.  In  the 
ttnrd  century  the  simple  ordinance  of  baptism  was  further  in- 
cumbered  and  perverted  by  the  ministrations  of  an_exorcis_L, 
This  official  indulged  in  "menacing  and  formidable  shouts  and 
declamation"  whereby  the  demons  or  evil  spirits  with  which  the 
candidate  was  supposed  to  be  afflicted  were  to  be  driven  away. 

^  "The  driving  out  of  this  demon  was  now  considered  as  an  es- 
sential preparation  for  baptism,  after  the  administration  of 
which  the  candidates  returned  home,  adorned  with  crowns,  and 
arrayed  in  white  garments,  as  sacred  emblems, — the  former  of 
their  victory  over  sin  and  the  world;  the  latter  of  their  inward 
purity  and  innocence." — Mosheim,"Eccl.  Hist., "Cent.  Ill,  part 
II,  ch.  4:4.)  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  in  this  superstitious  cere- 
mony the  evidence  of  pagan  adulteration  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. In  the  fourth  century  it  became  the  practice  to  place 
_j=salt  in  the  mouth  of  the  newly  baptized  member,  as  a  symbol 
or  purification,  and  the  actual  baptism  was  both  preceded  and 
followed  by  an  anointing  with?  oil. 

/13.  The  form  or  mode  of  baptism  also  underwent  a  radical 
change  during  the  first  half  of  the  third  century, — a  change 
whereby  its  essential  symbolism  was  destroyed.  Immerson,— 
(See  Note  3,  end  of  chapter)  typifying  death  followed  by  resur- 


7 


^ 
BAPTISMAL  ORDINANCE  CHANGED.  89 

rection,  was  no  longer  deemed  an  essential  feature,  and  sprink- 
ling with  water  was  allowed  in  place  thereof.  No  less  an  author- 
ity than  Cyprian,  the  learned  bishop  .of  Harthagp,  advocated 
the  propriety  ol  sprinkling  in  lieu  of  immersion  in  cases  of 
physical  weakness;  and  the  practice  thus  started,  later  became 
general.  The  first  instance  of  record  is  that  of  Novatus.  a  heretic 
who  requested  baptism  when  he  thought  death  was  near. —  (As 
to  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  baptism,  the  mode  of  its  adminis- 
tration and  the  symbolism  thereof,  see  the  author's  "Articles 
of  Faith,"  Lecture  7.)  L  « 

14.  Not  only  was  the  form  of  the  baptismal  rite  radicanyV' 
changed,  but  the  application  of  the  ordinance  was  perverted.  TheixH. 
practice  of  administering  baptism  to  infants  was  recognized  as 
orthodoxin  the  third_century,and  was  doubtless  of  earlier  origin. 

~Th  a  prolonged  disputation  as  to  whether  it  was  safe  to  post- 
pone the  baptism  of  infants  until  the  eighth  day  after  birth — 
in  deference  to  the  Jewish  custom  of  performing  circumcision 
on  that  day — it  was  gravely  decided  that  such  delay  would  be 
dangerous,  as  jeopardizing  the  future  well-being  of  the  child 
should  it  die  before  attaining  the  age  of  eight  days,  and  that 
baptism  ought  to  be  administered  as  soon  after  birth  as  possible. 
-(See  Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  Ill;  ch.  13.)  A  more 
infamous  doctrine  than  that  of  the  condemnation  of  unbaptized 
infants  can  scarcely  be  imagined,  and  a  stronger  proof  of  the 
heresies  that  had  invaded  and  corrupted  the  early  Church  need 
not  be  sought.  Such  a  doctrine  is  foreign  to  the  gospel  and  to 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  its  adoption  as  an  essential  tenet  is 
proof  of  apostasy. —  (For  a  discussion  of  infant  baptism,  see  the 
author's  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  6.  See  Note  4,  end  of 
chapter. ) 

Changes  in  the  Ordinance  of  the  Sacrament  of  the 
__,  Lord's  Supper. 

15.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  been  regarded 
as  an  essential  ordinance  from  the  time  of  its  establishment 
in  the  Church  by  Jesus  Christ.    Yet  in  spite  of  its  sanctity  it  has 
undergone  radical  alteration  both  as  to  its  symbolism  and  its 
accepted  purpose.    The  sacrament,  as  instituted  by  the  Savior 
and  as  administered  during  the  days  of  the  apostolic  ministry, 
was  as  simple  as  it  was  sacred  and  solemn.    Accompanied  by  the 


90  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

true  spirit  of  the  gospel,  its  simplicity  was  sanctifying;  as  inter- 
preted by  the  spirit  of  apostasy  its  simplicity  became  a  reproach. 
Hence  we  find  that  in  the  third  century,  long  sacramental 
prayers   were   prescribed,   and   much   pomp   was  introduced. 
^Vessels  of  gold  and  silver  were  used  by  such  congregations  as 
^coultKafford  them,  and  this  with  ostentatious  display.     Npn- 

members  and  members" who  were  in  a  penitential  state"  were 

excluded  from  the  sacramental  service — in  imitiation  of  the 
exclusiveness  accompanying  heathen  mysteries.  Disputation 
and  dissension  arose  as  to  the  proper  time  of  administering  the 
sacrament — morning,  noon,  or  evening ;  lihd  as  to  the  frequency 
with  which  the  ordinance  should  be  celebrated. —  (See  Note  5, 
end  of  chapter. ) 

16.  At  a  later  date  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation  was 
'  established  as  an  essential  tenet  of  the  Roman  Church.  This 
briefly  summarized,  is  to  the  effect  that  the  species — i.  e.,  the 
bread  and  wine  used  in  the  sacrament — lose  their  character  as 
mere  bread  and  wine,  and  become  in  fact  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
the  crucified  Christ.  The  transmutation  is  assumed  to  take 
place  in  such  a  mystical  way  as  to  delude  the  senses;  and  so, 
though  actual  flesh  and  actual  blood,  the  elements^till  appear 
to  be  bread  and  wine.  This  view,  so  strongly  defended  and 
earnestly  reverenced  by  orthodox  members  of  the  Roman 
Church,  is  vehemently  denounced  by  others  as  "an  absurd 
tenet," — (Milner)  and  a  "monstrous  and  unnatural  doctrine." 
-^Mosheim.) 

'.  There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  the  origin  of  this 
[bctrine, —  (See  Note  6,  end  of  chapter.)  the  Roman  Catholics 
claiming  for  it  a  great  antiquity,  while  their  opponents  insist 
that  it  was  an  innovation  of  the  eighth  or  ninth  century.  Ac- 
cording to  Milner  it  was  openly  taught  in  the  ninth  century; — 
(Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  IX,  ch.  1.)  was  formally  es- 
tablished as  a  dogma  of  the  Church  by  the  Council  of  Placentia 
A.  D.  1095, —  (The  same,  Cent.  XI,  ch.  1)  and  was  made  an 
essential  article  of  creed,  belief  in  which  was  required  of  all  by 
action  of  the  Roman  ecclesiastical  court  about  1160. —  (The 
same,  Cent.  XIII,  ch.  1.)  An  official  edict  of  the  pope,  Innocent 
III,  confirmed  the  dogma  as  a  binding  tenet  and  requireinenlruf" 
Church  in  1215;— Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  XIII,  Part 
II,  ch.  3:2.)  and  it  remains  practically  in  force  in  the  Roman 


THE  SACRAMENT  PERVERTED.  91 

Catholic  Church  today.  The  doctrine  was  adopted  by  the  Greek 
Church  in  the  seventeenth  century. —  (The  same.  Cent.  XVII, 
Part  II,  ch.  2:3.) 

18.  The  consecrated  emblems,  or  "host,"  being  regarded 
as  the  actual  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ,  were  adored  as  of  them- 
selves divine.  Thus,  "a  very  pernicious  practice  of  idolatry  was 
connected  with  the  reception  of  this  doctrine.  Men  fell  down 
before  the  consecrated  host,  and  worshipped  it  as  God;  and  the 
novelty,  absurdity,  and  impiety  of  this  abomination  very  much 

|  struck  the  minds  of  all  men  who  were  not  dead  to  a  sense  of 

I  true  religion."— (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  XIII,  ch.  1.) 
The  "elevation  of  the  host," — i.  e.,  the  presentation  of  the  con- 
secratecf  emblems  before  the  congregation  for  adoration,  is  a 
feature  of  the  present  day  ritual  of  worship  in  the  Roman  > 
Catholic  Church.    The  celebration  of  the  mass  is  taught  to  be  '^* 
an  actual  though  mystic  sacrifice^  in  wmcn  the  Son  of  God  is        c; 
daily  offered  up  anew  as  a  constantly  recurring  atonement  for 
the  present  sins  of  the  assembled  worshippers.    A  further  perver- 
sion of  the  sacrament  occurred  in  the  administration  of  bread 
alone,  instead  of  both  bread  and  wine  as  originally  required. 

• *•  19.  Thus  was  the  plain  purpose  and  assured  efficacy  of  the 

sacrament  hidden  beneath  a  cloud  of  mystery  and  ceremonial 
display.  Contrast  such  with  the  solemn  simplicity  of  the  or- 
dinance as  instituted  by  our  Lord, — He  took  bread  and  wine, 
blessed  them  and  gave  to  His  disciples  and  said,  "This  do  in  re- 
membrance of  me."— (Luke  22:19,  20;  compare  Matt.  26:27, 
28.)  Of  the  bread  He  said,  "Thisjs  my  body£  of  the  wine, 

J'This  is  my  blood;"  yet  at  that" time  His  body  was  unpierced, 
His  blood"  was  unshed.  The  disciples  ate  bread,  not  flesh  of  a 
living  man,  and  drank  wine,  not  blood;  and  this  they  were  com- 
manded to  do  in  remembrance  of  Christ. —  (For  a  general 
treatment  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  see  the 
author's  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  9. )  The  perversion  of  the 
sacrament  is  evidence  of  departure  from  the  spirit  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  when  made  an  essential  dogma  of  a  church  is 
proof  of  the  apostate  condition  of  that  church. 

20.  Behold,  "they  have  transgressed  the  laws,  changed  the  or- 
dinance, broken  the  everlasting  covenant." — (See  Isaiah  24:4-6.) 


92  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

NOTES. 

1.  Ceremonies  Added  as  a  Compromise.  "Both  Jews  and  heathens  were 
accustomed  to  a  vast  variety  of  pompous  and  magnificent  ceremonies  in  their 
religious  ^service.  And  as  they  considered  these  rites  as  an  essential  part  of 
religion,  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  behold  with  indifference,  and  even 
with  contempt,  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  worship,  which  was  destitute  of 
those  idle  ceremonies  that  rendered  their  service  so  specious  and  striking.  To 
remove  then,  in  some  measure,  this  prejudice  against  Christianity,  the  bishops 
thought  it  necessary  to  increase  the  number  of  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  thus 
to  render  the  public  worship  more  striking  to  the  outward  senses.  This  addi- 
tion of  external  rites  was  also  designed  to  remove  the  approbrious  calumnies 
which  the  Jewish  and  pagan  priests  cast  upon  the  Christians  on  account  of  the 
simplicity  of  their  worship,  esteeming  them  little  better  than  atheists,  because 
they  had  no  temples,  altars,  victims,  priests,  nor  anything  of  that  external 
pomp  in  which  the  vulgar  are  so  prone  to  place  the  essence  of  religion.  The 
rulers  of  the  Church  adopted,  therefore,  certain  external  ceremonies,  that  thus 
they  might  captivate  the  senses  of  the  vulgar,  and  be  able  to  refute  the  re- 

? roaches  of  their  adversaries."  (Mosheim,  "Ecclesiastical  History."  Cent. 
I,  Part  II,  ch.  4:2,  3.) 

A  note  appended  to  the  foregoing  excerpt  by  the  translator,  Dr.  Archi- 
bald Maclaine,  reads  as  follows: 

"A  remarkable  passage  in  the  life  of  Gregory,  surnamed  Thaumaturgus, 
i.  e.,  the  wondeV  worker,  will  illustrate  this  point  in  the  clearest  manner.  The 
passage  is  as  follows:  'When  Gregory  perceived  that  the  ignorant  multitude 
persisted  in  their  idolatry,  on  account  of  the  pleasures  and  sensual  gratifications 
which  they  enjoyed  at  the  pagan  festivals,  he  granted  them  a  permission  to 
indulge  themselves  in  the  like  pleasures,  in  celebrating  the  memory  of  the  holy 
martyrs,  hoping  that  in  process  of  time,  they  would  return  of  their  own  accord 
to  a  more  virtuous  and  regular  course  of  life.'  There  is  no  sort  of  doubt,  but 
that  by  this  permission  Gregory  allowed  the  Christians  to  dance,  sport,  and 
feast  at  the  tombs  of  the  martyrs  upon  their  respective  festivals,  and  to  do 
everything  which  the  pagans  were  accustomed  to  do  in  their  temples  during 
the  feasts  celebrated  in  honor  their  gods." 

The  Gregory  referred  to  in  the  note  last  quoted  flourished  about  the  middle 
of  the  third  century.  He  acquired  the  title  Thaumaturgus  from  his  fame  as  a 
worker  of  miracles,  the  genuineness  of  which  achievements  is  disputed  by  many 
authorities.  He  was  bishop  of  New  Caesarea,  and  a  man  of  great  influence 
in  the  Church.  His  sanction  of  ceremonies,  patterned  after  pagan  rites,  was 
doubtless  of  far-reaching  effect. 

2.  Church  Ceremonial  in  the  Fifth  Century.  "The  sublime  and  simple 
theology  of  the  primitive  Christians  was  gradually  corrupted,  and  the  Mon- 
archy of  heaven,  already  clouded  by  metaphysical  subtleties,  was  degraded 
by  the  introduction  of  a  popular  mythology,  which  te'nded  to  restore  the  reign 
of  polytheism.  As  the  objects  of  religion  were  gradually  reduced  to  the  standard 
of  the  imagination,  the  rites  and  ceremonies  were  introduced  that  seemed  most 
powerfully  to  affect  the  senses  of  the  vulgar.  If,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century,  Tertullian  or  Lactantius  had  been  suddenly  raised  from  the  dead,  to 
assist  at  the  festival  of  some  popular  saint  or  martyr,  they  would  have  gazed 


NOTES.  93 

with  astonishment  and  indignation  on  the  profane  spectacle,  which  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  pure  and  spiritual  worship  of  a  Christian  congregation.  As  soon  as 
the  doors  of  the  Church  were  thrown  open  they  must  have  been  offended  by  the 
smoke  ofjncense,  the  perfume  of  flowers,  and  the  glare  of  lamps  and  tapers, 
which  dirrusecl,  at  noonday,  a  gaudy,  superfluous,  and,  in  their  opinion  a  sacri- 
ligious  light.  If  they  approached  the  balustrade  of  the  altar,  they  made  their 
way  through  the  prostrate  crowd,  consisting  for  the  most  part,  of  strangers  and 
pilgrims,  who  resorted  to  the  city  on  the  vigil  of  the  feast;  and  who  already  felt 
the  strong  intoxication  of  fanaticism,  and  perhaps  of  wine.  Their  devout  kisses 
were  imprinted  on  the  walls  and  pavements  of  the  sacred  edifice;  and  their 
fervent  prayers  were  directed,  whatever  might  be  the  language  of  their  church, 
to  the  bones,  the  blood,  or  the  ashes  of  the  saints,  which  were  usually  concealed 
by  a  linen  or  silken  veil  from  the  eyes  of  the  vulgar.  The  Christians  frequented 
the  tombs  of  the  martyrs,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining,  from  their  powerful  inter- 
cession, every  sort  of  spiritual,  but  more  especially  of  temporal  blessings.  * 
The  same  uniform  original  spirit  of  superstition  might  suggest,  in  the  most  dis- 
tant ages  and  countries,  the  same  methods  of  deceiving  the  credulity,  and  of 
affecting  the  services,  of  mankind;  but  it  must  ingeniously  be  confessed  that  the 
ministers  of  the  Catholic  Church  imitated  the  profane  model  which  they  were 
impatient  to  destroy.  The  most  respectable  bishops  had  persuaded  themselves 
that  the  ignorant  rustics  would  more  cheerfully  renounce  the  superstitions  of 
Paganism,  if  they  found  some  resemblance,  some  compensation,  in  the  bosom  of 
Christianity.  The  religion  of  Constantine  achieved,  in  less  than  a  century,  the 
final  conquest  of  the  Roman  empire;  but  the  victors  themselves  were  insensibly 
subdued  by  the  arts  of  their  vanquished  rivals." — (Gibbon,  "Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  XXVIII.)  


3.  Early  Form  of  Christian  Baptism.  History  furnishes  ample  proof  that 
in  the  first  century  after  the  death  of  Christ,  baptism  was  administered  solely 
by  immersion.  Tertullian  thus  refers  to  the  immersion  ceremony  common  in 
his  day:  "There  is  no  difference  whether  one  is  washed  in  a  sea  or  in  a  pool,  in 
a  river  or  in  a  fountain,  in  a  lake  or  in  a  channel;  nor  is  there  any  difference 
between  those  whom  John  dipped  in  Jordan,  and  those  whom  Peter  dipped  in 
the  Tiber.  *  *  *  We_a_re  immersed  in  the  water." 

Justin  Martyr 'describes  the  ceremony  as  practiced  by  himself.  First 
describing  the  preparatory  examination  of  the  candidate,  he  proceeds:  "After 
that  they  are  led  by  us  to  where  there  is  water,  and  are  born  again  in  that  kind 
of  new  birth  by  which  we  ourselves  were  born  again.  For  in  the  name  of  God, 
the  Father  and  Lord  of  all,  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  immersion  in  water  is  performed;  because  the  Christ  hath  also  said, 
'Except*a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

Bishop  Bennet  says  concerning  the  practices  of  the  early  Christians:  'They 
led  them  into  the  water  and  laid  them  down  in  the  water  as  a  man  is  laid  in  a 
grave;  and  then  they  said  those  words,  *j  baptize  (or  wash)  thee  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;'  then  they  raised  them  up  again,  and  clean 
garments  were  put  on  them;  from  whence  came  the  phrases_of  being  baptized 
into  Christ's  death,  of  being  buried  with  Him  by  baptism  into  death,  of  our 
being  risen  with  Christ,  and  of  our  putting  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  putting 
off  the  old  man,  and  putting  on  the  new." 

"That  the  apostles  immersed  whom  they  baptized  there  is  no  doubt.  *  *  * 


94  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

And  that  the  ancient  church  followed  their  example  is  very  clearly  evinced  by 
innumerable  testimonies  of  the  fathers." — (Vossius.) 

"Burying  as  it  were  the  person  baptized  in  the  water,  and  raising  him  out 
again,  without  question  was  anciently  the  more  usual  method." — (Archbishop 
Seeker. ) 

"Immersion  was  the  usual  method  in  which  baptism  was  administered  in 
the  early  Church.  *  *  *  Immersion  was  undoubtedly  a  common  mode  of 
administering  baptism,  and  was  not  discontinued  when  infant  baptism  pre- 
vailed. *  *  *  Sprinkling  gradually  took  the  place  of  immersion  without 
any  formal  renunciation  of  the  latter." — (Canon  Farrar.) 

4.  Historical  Notes  on  Infant  Baptism.     "The  baptism  of  infants,  in  the 
first  two  centuries  after  Christ,  was  altogether  unknown.  *  *  *  The  custom  of 
baptizing  infants  did  not  begin  before  the  third  age  after  Christ  was  born.    In 
the  former  ages  no  trace  of  it  appears;  and  it  was  introduced  without  the  com 
mand  of  Christ." — (Curcullaeus.) 

"It  is  certain  that  Christ  did  not  ordain  infant  baptism.  *  *  *  We  can- 
not prove  that  the  apostles  ordained  infant  baptism.  From  those  places  where 
baptism  of  a  whole  family  is  mentioned  (as  in  Acts  16:33;  I  Cor.  1:16)  we  can 
draw  no  such  conclusion,  because  the  inquiry  is  still  to  be  made,  whether  there 
were  any  children  in  the  families  of  such  an  age  that  they  were  not  capable  of 
any  intelligent  reception  of  Christianity;  for  this  is  the  only  point  on  which  the 
case  turns.  *  *  *  As  baptism  was  cktselv  united  with  a  conscious  entrance  on 
Christian  communion,  tfiaith  and  bapHjsmiwere  always  connected  with  one  an- 
other; and  thus  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  baptism  was  performed 
only  in  instances  where  both  could  meet  together,  and  that  the  practice  of  in- 
fant  baptism  was  unknown  at  this  (the  apostolic)  period.  *  *  *  That  not  till1 
so  late  a  period  as  (at  least 'certainly  not  earlier  than)  Irenaeus,  a  trace  of  infant 
baptism  appears;  and  that  it  first  became  recognized  as  an  "apostolic  traditior; 
in  the  course  of  the  third  century,  is  evidence  rather  against  than  for  the  ad- ' 
mission  of  its  apostolic  origin.'  — (Johann  Neander,  a  German  theologian  who 
f  flourished  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.) 

*T       "Let  them  therefore  come  when  they  are  grown  up — when  they  can  under- 

\y  stand — when  they  are  taught  whither  they  are  to  come.     Let  them  become 

/T  Christians  when  they  can  know~Christ." — (Tertullian,  one  of  the  Latin  "Chris- 

y     tian  Fathers;"  he  lived  from  150  to  220  A.  D.)    Tertullian's  almost  violent 

p       opposition  to  the  practice  of  pedo-bap_tisjn  is  cited  by  Neander  as  'a  proof  that 

it  was  then  not  usually  considered  an  ap5stolic  ordinance;  for  in  that  case  he 

would  hardly  have  ventured  to  speak  so  strongly  against  it." 

Martin  Luther,  writing  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  declared: 
"It  cannot  be  proven  by  the  sacred  scriptures  that  infant  baptism  was  instituted 
by  Christ,  or  begun  by  the  first  Christians  after  the  apostles." 

"By  tekna  the  Apostle  understands,  not  infants,  but  posterity;  in  which 
significance  the  word  occurs  in  many  places  of  the  New  Testament  (see  among 
others  John  8:39);  whence  it  appears  that  the  argument  which  is  very  com- 
monly taken  from  this  passage  for  the  baptism  of  infants,  is  of  no  force,  and 
good  for  nothing." — (Limborch,  a  native  of  Holland,  and  a  theologian  of  repute; 
he  lived  1633-1712.) 

5.  Summary  of  Changes  in  the  Sacrament  as  an  Ordinance.    "Errors  con- 
cerning the  sacrament,  and  its  signification,  and  the  manner  of  administering 


NOTES.  95 

it,  grew  rapidly  in  the  professed  Christian  churches  during  the  early  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era.  As  soon  as  the  power  of  the  priesthood  had  departed, 
much  disputation  arose  in  matters  of  ordinance,  and  the  observance  of  the 
sacrament  became  distorted.  Theological  teachers  strove  to  foster  the  idea 
that  there  was  much  mystery  attending  this  naturally  simple  and  most  im- 
pressive ordinance;  that  all  who  were  not  in  full  communion  with  the  Church 
should  be  excluded,  not  only  from  participation  m  the  ordinance,  which  was 
justifiable,  but  from  the  privilege  of  witnessing  the  service,  lest  they  profane 
the  mystic  rite  by  their  unhallowed  presence.  Then  arose  the  heresy  of  jran- 
substantiation, — which  held  that  the  sacramental  emblems  by  the  ceremony  of 
consecration  lost  their  natural  character  of  simple  bread  and  wine,  and  became 
in  reality  flesh  and  blood, — actually  parts  of  the  crucified  body  of  Christ.  Ar- 
guments against  such  dogmas  is  useless.  Then  followed  the  veneration  of  the 
emblems  by  the  people,  the  bread  and  wine — regarded  as  part  of  Christ's 
tabernacle,  being  elevated  in  the  mass  for  the  adoration  of  the  people;  and  later, 
the  custom  of  suppressing  half  of  the  sacrament  was  introduced.  By  the  in- 
novation last  mentioned,  omy  the  bread  was  administered,  the  dogmatic  as- 
sertion being  that  both  the  body  and  the  blood  were  represented  in  some 
mystical  way  in  one  of  the  "elements."  Certain  it  is,  that  Christ  required  His 
disciples  to  both  eat  and  drink  in  remembrance  of  Him." — (The  Author, 
"Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  9,  Note  4.) 

6.  As  to  the  Antiquity  of  the  Doctrine  of  Transubstantiation.  As  stated  in 
the  text,  the  date  of  origin  of  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  has 
been  debated.  The  following  summary  is  instructive.  "Protestants  combat- 
ting the  Catholic  idea  of  the  real  presence  of  the  flesh  and  blood  in  the  eucharist 
— transubstantiation — have  endeavored  to  prove  that  this  doctrine  was  not  of 
earlier  origin  than  the  eighth  century.  In  this,  however,  the  evidence  is  against 
them.  Ignatius,  bishop  ot  Antioch,  writing  early  in  the  second  century,  says 
of  certain  supposed  heretics:  "They  do  not  admit  of  eucharists  and  oblaTions, 
because  they  do  not  believe  the  eucharist  to  be  the  flesh  of  our  Savior  Jesus 
Christ,  who  suffered  for  our  sins.'  (Epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Smyrneans.) 
So  Justin  Martyr,  also  writing  in  tne  first  half  of  the  second  century:  'We  do 
not  receive  them"  [the  bread  and  the  wine]  as  ordinary  food  or  ordinary  drink 
but  as  by  the  word  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior,  was  made  flesh  and  took 
upon  him  both  flesh  and  blood  for  our  salvation,  so  also  the  food  which  was 
blessed  by  the  prayer  of  the  word  which  proceeded  from  Him,  and  from  which 
our  flesh  and  blood,  by  transmutation,  receive  nourishment,  is,  we  are  taught, 
both  the  flesh  and  blood  of  that  Jesus  who  was  made  flesh.'  (Justin's  Apology 
to  Emperor  Antoninus.)  After  Justin's  time  the  testimony  of  the  fathers  is 
abundant.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  idea  of  the  real 
presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  in  the  eucharist;  but  that  proves — as 
we  said  of  infant  baptism — not  that  the  doctrine  is  true,  but  that  soon  after 
the  apostles  had  passed  away,  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  was  corrupted  or 
else  entirely  departed  from." — (B.  H.  Roberts,  "Outlines  of  Ecclesiastical  I/ 
History,"  p.  133.) ~^\ 


96  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Internal  Causes. — Continued. 

1.  Among  the  controlling  causes  leading  to  the  general 
apostasy  of  the  Church,  we  have  specified  as  third  in  the  series: 

Unauthorized  changes  in  Church  organization  and  government. 

2.  A  comparison  between  the  plan  of  organization  on  which 
the    Primitive    Church    was    founded    and    the    ecclesiastical 
system  which  took  its  place  will  afford  valuable  evidence  as  to 
the  true  or  apostate  condition  of  the  modern  Church.     The 
^Primitive  Church  was  officered  by  apostles,  pastors,  high  priests, 

venties,  elders,  bishops,  priests,  teachers,  and  deacons.— 
ee  Luke  6:13  and  Mark  3:14;  Eph.  4:11;  Heb.  5:1-5;  Luke 
10:1-11;  Acts  14:23;  15:6;  I  Peter  5:1;  I  Tim.  3:1;  Titus  1:7; 
Rev.  1 :6 ;  Acts  13-1 ;  I  Tim.  3 :8-12. )  We  have  no  evidence  that 
the  presiding  council  of  the  Church,  comprising  the  twelve 
apostles,  was  continued  beyond  the  earthly  ministry  of  those 
who  had  been  ordained  to  that  holy  calling  during  the  life  of 
Christ  or  soon  after  His  ascension.  Nor  is  there  record  of  any 
ordination  of  individuals  to  the  apostleship,  irrespective  of 
membership  in  the  council  of  twelve,  beyond  those  whose  call- 
ing and  ministry  are  chronicled  in  the  New  Testament,  which, 
as  a  historical  record,  ends  with  the  first  century. 

3.  Ecclesiastical  history  other  than  the  holy  scriptures  in- 
forms us',  however,  that  wherever  a  branch,  or  church,  was  or- 
ganized, a  feishop  or  an  elder  (presbyter)  was  placed  in  charge. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  while  the  apostles  lived,  they  were  recog- 
nized and  respected  as  the  presiding  authorities  of  the  Church. 
As  they  established  branches  or  churches,  they  selected  the 
bishops,  and  submitted  their  nominations  to  the  vote  of  the 
members.    As  already  stated,  the  principle  of  self-government, 
or  common  consent,  was  respected  in  apostolic  days  with  a 
care  amounting  to  sacred  duty.    We  read  that  the  bishops  were 
assisted  in  their  local  administration  by  presbyters  and  deacons. 

4.  After  the  apostles  had  gone,  bishops  and  other  officers 
were  nominated  by,  orat  the  instance  of,  the  existing  authorities. 
The  affairs  of  each  church  or  branch  were  conducted  and  regu- 
lated by  the  local  officers,  so  that  a  marked  equality  existed 


THE  BISHOPS  OF  ROME.  97 

among  the  several  churches,  none  exercising  or  claiming  suprem- 
acy except  as  to  the  deference  voluntarily  paid  to  those 
churches  that  had  been  organized  by  the  personal  ministry  of  the 
apostles.  Throughout  the  first  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
second  century,  "the  Christian  churches  were  independent  of 
each  other;  nor  were  they  joined  together  by  association,  con- 
federacy, or  other  bonds  but  those  of  charity.  Each  Christian 
assembly  was  a  little  state,  governed  "By" its  l>wn  laws,  which 
were  either  enacted,  or,  at  least,  approved  by  the  society. "- 
(Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  II,  Part  II,  ch.  2:2.) 

5.  As  with  the  churches,  so  with  their  bishops, — there  was  a 
recognized  equality  among  them.  Late  in  the  second,  and 
throughout  the  third  century,  however,  marked  distinctions 
and  recognitions  of  rank  arose  among  the  bishops,  those  of 
large  and  wealthy  cities  assuming  authority  and  dignity  above 
that  accorded  by  them  to  the  bishops  of  the  country  provinces. 
The  bishops  of  the  largest  cities  or  provinces,  took  to  themselves 
the  distinguishing  title  of  .J^etropolitans, —  (See  Mosheim, 
"Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  II,  ParT"llf  ch.  2:3;  also  Cent. 
IV,  Part  II,  ch.  2:3,  and  compare  Cent.  I,  Part  II,  ch.  2:14.) 
and  assumed  a  power  of  presidency  over  the  bishops  of  more 
limited  jurisdiction. 

^-6.  The  second  century  was  marked  by  the  custom  of  hold- 
ing synodsor  church  councils;  the  practice  originated  among  the 
churches  in  Greece,  and  thence  became  general.  These  councils 
grew  rapidly  in  power,  so  that  in  the  third  century  we  find  them 
legislating  for  the  churches, and  directing  by  edict  and  command 
in  matter  which  formerly  had  been  left  to  the  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple. Needless  to  say  that  with  such  assumptions  of  authority 
came  arrogance  and  tyranny  in  the  government  of  the  Church. 
As  the  form  of  church  government  changed  more  and  more, 
many  minor  orders  of  clergy  or  church  officers  arose;  thus  in 
the  third  century  we  read  of  sub-deacons,  acolytes,  ostiars, 
j*eadef§pe=x~orcists,  and  ^opiates.  As  an  inst&nce~6f  the  pride  of 
"office,  it  is  worthy  of  note  That  a  sub-deacon  was  forbidden  to 
sit  in  the  presence  of  a  deacon  without  the  latter' s  express  con- 
sent. 

7.  Rome,  so  long  the  "mistress  of  the  world"  in  secular 
affairs,  arrogated  to  herself  a  pre-eminence  in  church  matters, 


98^  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

and  the  bishop  of  Rome  claimed  supremacy.  It  is  doubtless 
true  that  the  church  at  Rome  was  organized  by  Peter  and  Paul. 
Tradition,  founded  on  error,  said  that  the  apostle  Peter  was  the 
first  bishop  of  Rome;  and  those  who  successively  were  acknowl- 
edged as  bishops  of  the  metropolis  claimed  to  be,  in  fact,  lineal 
successors  of  the  presiding  apostle.  The  high  but  none  the  less 
false  claim  is  made  by  the  Catholic  Church  in  this  day,  that  the 
present  pope  is  the  last  lineal  successor — not  alone  to  the  bish- 
opric but  to  the  apostleship. 

8.  The  rightful  supremacy  of  the  bishops  of  Rome,  or 
Roman  pontiffs  as  they  came  to  be  known,  was  early  questioned; 
and  when  Constantine  made  Byzantium,  or  Constantinople, 
the  capitafof  the  empire,  the  bishop  of  Constantinople  claimeor 
equality.  The  dispute  divided  the  Church,  and  for  five  hundred 
years  the  dissension  increased,  until  the  ninth  century  (855 
A.  D.)  it  developed  into  a  great  disruption,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  bishop  of  Constantinople,  known  distinctively  as  the 
patriarch,  disavowed  all  further  allegiance  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  otherwise  known  as  the  Roman  pontiff.  This  disrup- 
tion is  marked  today  by  the  distinction  between  Roman 
Catholics. 


9.  The  election  of  pontiff,  or  bishop  of  Rome,  was  long 
left  to  the  vote  of  the  people  and  clergy;  later  the  electorial 
function  was  vested  in  the  clergy  alone;  and  in  the  eleventh 

i^/O  century  the  power  was  lodged|in  the  college  of  cardinals,  where 
it  remains  vested  today.  The  Roman  pontiffs  strove  with  un- 
remitting zeal  to  acquire  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  authority; 
and  their  influence  had  become  so  great  that  in  the  eleventh 
century  we  find  them  claiming  the  right  to  direct  princes,  kings, 
and  emperors  in  the  affairs  of  the  several  nations.  It  was  at 
this,  the  early  period  of  their  greatest  temporal  power,  that  the^ 
pontitfg^took  the  title  of  pope,  the  word  meaning  literally  papa 
OT~fa~ther,  and  applied  in  TiKef  sense  of  universal  parent.  The 
power  of  the  popes  was  increased  during  the  twelfth  century, 
and  may  be  said  to  have  reached  its  height  in  the  thirteenth 
century. 

10.  Not  content  with  assumed  supremacy  in  all  church 
affairs,  the  popes  "carried  their  insolent  pretensions  so  far  as  to 


THE  BISHOPS  OF  ROME.  99 

give  themselves  out  for  lords  of  the  universe,  arbiters  of  the 
fate  of  kingdoms  and  empires,  and  supreme  rulers  over  the 
kings  and  princes  of  the  earth." — (Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.," 
Cent.  XI,  Part  II,  ch.  2 :2. )  They  claimed  the  right  to  authorize 
and  direct  in  the  internal  affairs  of  nations,  and  to  make  lawful 
the  rebellion  of  subjects  against  their  rulers  if  the  latter  failed 
to  keep  favor  with  the  papal  power. 

11.  Compare  this  arrogant  and  tyrannical  church  of  the 
world  with  the  Church  of  Christ.  Unto  Pilate  our  Lord  de- 
clared, "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." — (John  18:36.) 
and  on  an  earlier  occasion,  when  the  people  would  have  pro- 
claimed Him  king  with  earthly  dominion, —  (John  6:15.)  He 
)  departed  from  them.  Yet  the  Church  that  boasts  of  its  divine 
origin  as  founded  by  the  Christ,  who  would  not  be  a  king,  lifts 
itself  above  all  kings  and  rulers,  and  proclaims  itself  the  supreme 
power  in  the  affairs  of  nations. 

I  12.  In  the  fourth  century  the  Church  had  promulgated 

I  what  has  been  since  designated  as  an  infamy,  viz.:  that  "errors 
I  in  religion,  when  maintained  and  adhered  to  after  proper 
/  admonition,  were  punishable  with  civil  penalties,  and  corporal 
tartures."— (Mosheim,  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  IV,  Part  II,  ch. 
3:16.)  The  effect  of  this  unjust  rule  appeared  as  more  and  more 
atrocious  with  the  passage  of  the  years,  so  that  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  later,  we  find  the  Church  imposing  punishment  of 
fine,  imprisonment,  bodily  torture,  and  even  death,  as  penalties 
for  infraction  of  church  regulations,  and,  more  infamous  still, 
providing  for  mitigation  or  annulment  of  such  sentences  on 
payment  of  money.  This  led  to  the  shocking  practice  of  selling 
indulgences  or  pardons,  which  custom  was  afterwards  carried 
tt>  the  awful  extreme  of  issuing  such  before  the  commission  of 
the  specific  offense,  thus  literally  offering  for  sale  licenses  to 
sin,  with  assurance  of  temporal  and  promise  of  spiritual  im- 
munity. 

13.  The  granting  of  indulgences  as  exemptions  from 
temporal  penalties  was  at  first  confined  to  the  bishops  and  their 
agents,  and  the  practice  dates  as  an  organized  traffic  from  about 
the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  It  remained  for  the  popes, 
however,  to  go  to  the  blasphemous  extreme  of  assuming  to 


100  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

remit  the  penalties  of  the  hereafter  on  payment  of  the  sums  pre- 
scribed. Their  pretended  justification  of  the  impious  assump- 
tion was  as  horrible  as  the  act  itself,  and  constitutes  the  dreadful 
doctrine  of  supererogation. 

14.  As  formulated  in  the  thirteenth  century,  this  doctrine 
was  thus  set  forth:  "That  there  actually  existed  an  immense 
treasure  of  merit,  composed  of  the  pious  deeds  and  virtuous 
actions  which  the  saints  had  performed  beyond  what  was  neces- 
sary for  their  own  salvation,  and  which  were  therefore  applicable 
to  the  benefit  of  others;  that  the  guardian  and  dispenser  of  this 
precious  treasure  was  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  that  .of  conse- 
quence he  was  empowered  to  assign  to  such  as  he  thought 
proper  a  portion  of  this  inexhaustible  source  of  merit,  guitable 
to  their  respective  guilt,  and  sufficient  to  deliver  them  from  the 
punishment  due  to  their  crimes." — (As  cited  by  Mosheim; 
see  "Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  XII,  Part  II,  ch.  3:4.) 

15.  The  doctrine  of  supererogation  is  as  unreasonable  as  it 
is  unscriptural  and  untrue.     Man's  individual  responsibility 
for  his  acts  is  as  surely  a  fact  as  is  his  agency  to  act  for  himself. 
He  will  be  saved  through  the  merits  and  by  the  atoning  sacri- 
fice of  our  Redeemer  and  Lord;  and  his  claim  upon  the  salvation 
provided  is  strictly  dependent   on  his  compliance  with  the 
principles  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  as  established  by  Jesus 
Christ.     Remission  of  sins  and  the  eventual  salvation  of  the 
human  soul  are  provided  for;  but  these  gifts  of  God  are  not  to 
be  purchased  with  money.     Compare  the  awful  fallacies  of 
supererogation  and  the  blasphemous  practice  of  assuming  to 
remit  sins  of  one  man  in  consideration  of  the  merits  of  another, 

•  f_with  the  declaration  of  the  one  and  only  Savior  of  mankind: 

*  ]  "But  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak, 
r    1  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment."—  (Matt. 

[^12:36.)  His  inspired  apostles,  seeing  in  prophetic  vision 
the  day  of  awful  certainty,  solemnly  testifies,  "And  I  saw  the 
dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God;  and  the  books  were 
opened:  and  another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of 
life:  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were 
written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works.  And  the  sea 
gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it;  and  death  and  hell  delivered 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  them:  and  they  were  judged  every 


/y 


PAPAL  INDULGENCES.  101 


wan  according  to  their  works."  —  (Rev.  20:12,  13.  Italics  Intro.) 

16.  The  scriptures  proclaim  the  eternal  fact  of  individual 
accountability  ;—  (For  a  concise  treatment  of  the  doctrine  of 
man's  responsibility  see  the  author's  "Articles  of  Faith,  "Lecture 
3.)  the  Church  in  the  days  of  its  degeneracy  declares  that  the 
merit  of  one  may  be  bought  by  another  and  paid  for  in  worldly 
coin.     Can  such  a  Church  be  in   any  measure  the  Church  of 
Christ? 

17.  In  illustration  of  the  indulgences  as  sold  in  Germany 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  we  have  the  record  of  the  doings  of 

_  John  Tetzel,  agent  of  the  pope,  who  traveled  about  selling 
forgiveness  of  sins.  Says  Milner:  "Myconius  assures  us  that 
he  himself  heard  Tetzel  declaim  with  incredible  effrontery 
concerning  the  unlimited  power  of  the  pope  and  the  efficacy  of 
indulgences.  The  people  believed  that  the  moment  any  person 
had  paid  the  money  for  the  indulgence  he  became  certain  of 
his  salvation;  and  that  the  souls  for  whom  the  indulgences 
were  bought  were  instantly  released  out  of  purgatory.  *  *  * 
John  Tetzel  boasted  that  he  had  saved  more  souls  from  hell 
by  his  indulgences  than  St.  Peter  had  converted  to  Christianity 
by  his  preaching.  He  assured  the  purchasers  of  them,  their 
crimes,  however  enormous,  would  be  forgiven;  whence  it  be- 
came almost  needless  for  him  to  bid  them  dismiss  all  fears  con- 
cerning their  salvation.  For,  remission  Of  sins  being  fully  obtain- 
ed, what  doubt  could  there  be  of  salvation?"  —  (Milner, 
"History  of  the  Church,"  Cent.  XVI,  ch.  2.) 

18.  A  copy  of  an  indulgence  written  by  the  hand  of  Tetzel 
the  vendor  of  popish  pardons,  has  been  preserved  to  us  as  fol- 
lows: "May  our  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  have  mercy  upon  thee  anc 
absolve  thee  by  the  merits  of  His  most  holy  passion.    And  I, 
by  His  authority,  that  of  His  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  oj 
the  most  holy  pope  granted  and  committed  to  me  in  these  parts, 
do  absolve  thee,  first  from  all  ecclesiastical  censures,  in  what- 
ever manner  they  have  been  incurred;  and  then  from  all  the 
sins,  transgressions,  and  excesses,  how  enormous  soever  they 
may  be,  ev^en  for  such  as  are  reserved  for  the  cognizance  of  the 
holy  se«;  and  as  far  as  the  keys  of  the  holy  church  extend,  I 
remit  to  thee  all  the  punishment  which  thou  deservest  in 


102  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

purgatory  on  their  account;  and  I  restore  thee  to  the  holy 
sacraments  of  the  church,  to  the  unity  of  the  faithful,  and  to 
that  innocence  and  purity  which  thou  possessedst  at  baptism; 
so  that  when  thou  diest,  the  gates  of  punishment  shall  be  shut, 
and  the  gates  of  the  paradise  of  delight  shall  be  opened;  and  if 
thou  shalt  not  die  at  present,  this  grace  shall  remain  in  full 
force  when  thou  art  at  the  point  of  death.  In  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."— (Milner, 
"Church  History,"  Cent.  XVI,  ch.  2.) 

19.  By  way  of  excuse  or  defense,  it  has  been  claimed  for 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  that  a  profession  of  contrition  or 
repentance  was  required  of  every  applicant  for  indulgence,  and 
that  the  pardon  was  issued  on  the  basis  of  such  penitence,  and 
not  primarily  for  money  or  its  equivalent;  but  that  recipients 
of  indulgences,  at  first  voluntarily,  and  later  in  compliance  with 
established  custom,  made  a  material  offering  or  donation  to  the 
Church.     It  is  reported,  moreover,  that  some  of  the  abuses 
with  which  the  selling  of  indulgences  had  been  associated  were 
disapproved  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  about  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century.    Nevertheless,  the  dread  fact  remains  that 
for  four  hundred  years  the  Church  had  claimed  for  its  pope  the 
power  to  remit  all  sins,  and  that  the  promise  of  remission  had 
been  sold  and  bought. —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 

20.  The  awful  sin  of  blasphemy  consists  in  taking  to  one's 
self  the  divine  prerogatives  and  powers.    Here  we  find  the  pope 
of  Rome,  the  head  of  the  only  church  recognized  at  the  time, 
assuming  to  remit  the  punishment  due  in  the  hereafter  for  sins 
committed  in  mortality.    A  pope  assuming  to  sit  in  judgment 
as  God  Himself!  Is  this  not  a  fulfilment  of  the  dread  conditions 
of  apostasy  foreseen  and  foretold  as  antecedent  to  the  second 
advent  of  Christ?    Read  for  yourselves:  "Let  no  man  deceive" 
you  by  any  means:  for  that  day  shall  not  come,  except  there 
come  a  falling  away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the 
son  of  perdition;  who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that 
is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped:  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the 
temple  of  God,  shewing  himself  that  he  is  God." — (Thess.  2:3,  4. 
Italics  introduced.    See  Note  4,  end  of  chapter.) 

21.  Another  abuse  perpetrated  by  the  councils  through 
which  assemblies  the  supreme  pontiffs  exercised  their  auto- 


SCRIPTURE  READING  FORBIDDEN.  1  103 

cratic  powers,  is  seen  in  the  restrictions  placed  on  the  reading 
and  interpretation  of  scripture.  The  same  Council  of  Trent, 
which  had  disclaimed  authority  or  blame  for  the  acts  of  church 
officials  regarding  the  scandalous  traffic  in  indulgences,  pre- 
scribed most  rigid  regulations  forbidding  the  reading  of  the 
scriptures  by  the  people.  Thus:  "A  severe  and  intolerable  law 
was  enacted,  with  respect  to  all  interpreters  and  expositors  of 
the  scriptures,  by  which  they  were  forbidden  to  explain  the 
sense  of  these  divine  books,  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  them  speak  a  different  language 
from  that  of  the  church  and  the  ancient  doctors.  The  same 
law  further  declared  that  the  church  alone  (i.  e.,  its  ruler,  the 
Roman  pontiff )  had  the  right  of  determining  the  true  meaning 
and  signification  of  scripture.  To  fill  up  the  measure  of  these 
tyrannical  and  iniquitous  proceedings,  the  church  of  Rome 
persisted  obstinately  in  affirming,  though  not  always  with  the 
same  imprudence  and  plainness  of  speech,  that  the  holy  scriptures 
were  not  composed  for  the  use  of  the  multitude,  but  only  for  that  of 
their  spiritual  teachers;  and,  of  consequence,  ordered  these  divine 
records  to  be  taken  from  the  people  in  all  places  where  it  was 
allowed  to  execute  its  imperious  demands." — (Mosheim, 
"Eccl.  Hist.,"  Cent.  XVI,  Part  I,  ch.  1:25.  The  italics  are 
introduced  by  the  present  writer.) 

22.  Is  it  possible  that  a  church  teaching  such  heresies  can 
be  the  Church  established  by  Jesus  Christ?     The  Lord  Jesus  S 
commanded  all:  (( Search  the  scriptures',  for  in  them  ye  think  ye    / 
have  eternal  life:  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me."--  JL 
(John  5:39;  compare  verse  46;  also  Isaiah  8:20;  Luke  16:29; 
and  Acts  17:11.) 

23.  Surely  a  pall  of  darkness  had  fallen  upon  the  earth. 
The  Church  of  Christ  had  long  since  ceased  to  exist.    In  place 
of  a  priesthood  conferred  by  divine  authority,  a  man-created 
papacy  ruled  with  the  iron  hand  of  tyranny  and  without  re- 
gard to  moral  restraint.    In  a  scholarly  work  Dr.  J.  W.  Draper 
gives  a  list  of  pontiffs  who  had  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Church 
from  the  middle  of  the  eighth  to  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
centuries,  with  biographical  notes  of  each. —  (See  Note  3,  end 
of  chapter.)    And  what  a  picture  is  there  outlined!    To  win  the 
papal  crown  no  crime  was  too  great,  and  for  a  period  of  centuries 


104  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

the  immoralities  of  many  of  the  popes  and  their  subordinates 
are  too  shocking  for  detailed  description.  It  may  be  claimed 
that  the  author  last  cited,  and  whose  words  are  given  below, 
was  an  avowed  opponent  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
that,  therefore,  his  judgment  is  prejudiced;  in  reply  let  it  be 
said  that  the  attested  facts  of  history  support  the  dread  arraign- 
ment. In  commenting  on  the  facts  set  forth,  Dr.  Draper  says: 

24.  "More  than  a  thousand  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
birth  of  our  Savior,  and  such  was  the  condition  of  Rome.    Well 
may  the  historian  shut  the  annals  of  those  times  in  disgust. 
Well  may  the  heart  of  the  Christian  sink  within  him  at  such  a 
catalogue  of  hideous  crimes.  Well  may  we  ask,  Were  these 
the   vicegerents   of   God   upon   earth — these,   who   had  truly 
reached  the  goal  beyond  which  the  last  effort  of  human  wicked- 
ness cannot  pass?    Not  until  several  centuries  after  these  events 
did    public    opinion    come    to    the    true    and    philosophical 
conclusion — the  total  rejection  of  the   divine   claims   of  the 
papacy.    For  a  time  the  evils  were  attributed  to  the  manner  of 
the   pontifical  election,   as  if  they  could  by  any  possibility 
influence  the  descent  of  a  power  which  claimed  to  be  super- 
natural and  under  the  immediate  care  of  God.  *  *  *  No  one 
can  study  the  development  of  the  Italian  ecclesiastical  power 
without  discovering  how  completely  it  depended  on  human 
agency,  too  often  on  human  passion  and  intrigue;  how  complete- 
ly wanting  it  was  of  any  mark  of  the  divine  construction  and 
care — the  offspring  of  man,  not  of  God,  and  therefore  bearing 
upon  it  the  lineaments  of  human  passions,  human  virtues,  and 
human      sins." — (Draper,      "Intellectual      Development     of 
Europe;"  Vol.  1,  p.  382.) 

25.  By  increasing  changes  and  unauthorized  alterations  in 
organization  and  government,  the  earthly  establishment  known 
as  "the  Church,"  with  popes,  cardinals,  abbots,  friars,  monks, 
exorcists,  acolytes,  etc.,  lost  all  semblance  to  the  Church  as 
established  by  Christ  and  maintained  by  His  apostles.     The 
Catholic  argument  that  there  has  been  an  uninterrupted  suc- 
cession of  authority  in  the  priesthood  from  the  Apost\e  peter  to 
the  present  occupant  of  the  papal  throne,  is  untenable  in  the 
light  of  history,  and  unreasonable  in  the  light  of  fact.    Authority 
to  speak  and  act  in  the  name  of  God,  power  to  officiate  in  the 


NOTES.  105 

saving  ordinances  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  high  privilege  of 
serving  as  a  duly  commissioned  ambassador  of  the  court  of 
Heaven, — these  are  not  to  be  had  as  the  gifts  of  princes,  nor 
are  they  to  be  bought  for  money,  nor  can  they  be  won  as  trophies 
of  the  bloody  sword.  The  history  of  the  papacy  is  the  condem- 
nation of  the  Church  of  Rome. —  (See  Notes  2  and  3,  end  of 
chapter. ) 

NOTES. 

1.  The  Roman  Church  Responsible  for  the  Traffic  in  "Indulgences"  In 
view  of  the  claim  asserted  by  some  defenders  of  the  Roman  Church,  to  the  effect 
that  the  shameful  traffic  in  indulgences  was  not  sanctioned  by  the  church,  and 
that  the  church  cannot  be  held  accountable  for  the  excesses  to  which  its  sub- 
ordinates may  go  in  their  alleged  official  acts,  the  following  remarks  by  Milner, 
the  judicious  authority  on  Church  History  (Cent.  XVI,  chap.  2.),  may  be  of 
interest:  "It  does  not  appear  that  the  rulers  of  the  hierarchy  ever  found  the 
least  fault  with  Tetzel  as  exceeding  his  commission,  till  an  opposition  was 
openly  made  to  the  practice  of  indulgences.  Whence  it  is  evident,  that  the 
protestants  have  not  unjustly  censured  the  corruption  of  the  court  of  Rome 
in  this  respect.  *  *  The  indulgences  were  farmed  to  the  highest  bidders, 
and  the  undertakers  employed  such  deputies  to  carry  on  the  traffic  as  they 
thought  most  likely  to  promote  their  lucrative  views.  The  inferior  officers 
concerned  in  this  commerce  were  daily  seen  in  public  houses  enjoying  themselves 
in  riot  and  voluptuousness  (Maimbourg,  p.  11 ).  In  fine,  whatever  the  greatest 
enemy  of  popery  could  have  wished,  was  at  that  time  exhibited  with  the  most 
undisguised  impudence  and  temerity,  as  if  on  purpose  to  render  that  wicked 
ecclesiastical  system  infamous  before  all  mankind." 

The  author  proceeds  to  comment  on  the  graded  prices  by  which  these  in- 
dulgences were  placed  within  the  pecuniary  reach  of  all  classes,  and  finds  in 
the  wholesale  traffic  proof  of  profound  ignorance  and  dire  superstition,  and  then 
points  out  the  need  of  a  new  gospel  dispensation  as  follows:  This,  however,  was 
the  very  situation  of  things  which  opened  the  way  for  the  reception  of  the  gospel. 
But  who  was  to  proclaim  the  gospel  in  its  native  beauty  and  simplicity?  The 
princes,  the  bishops,  and  the  learned  men  of  the  times  saw  all  this  scandalous 
traffic  respecting  the  pardon  of  sins;  but  none  was  found  who  possessed  the 
knowledge,  the  courage,  and  the  honesty,  necessary  to  detect  the  fraud,  and  to 
lay  open  to  mankind  the  true  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the  remission  of  sins  /  / 
through  Jesus  Christ."  jMlnerfinds  the  inauguration  of  a  new  era  in  jthe  "ref-  J (^} 
_Qrmation!i-duri ng  the  sixTeelifh^century.  tt  is  sufficient~for~6uT 'present  pur- 
pose to  know  that  he  recognized  the  need  of  preparation  whereby  the  way  would 
be  opened  "for  the  reception  of  the  gospel." — (Milner,  "Ch.  Hist."  Cent.  XVI, 
ch.  2;  italics  introduced.) 

2.  Three  Popes  at  One  Time.  "One  of  the  severest  blows  given  both  the 
temporal  and  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  popes,  was  the  removal,  in  1309, 
through  the  influence  of  the  French  king,  Philip  the  Fair,  of  the  papal  chair 
from  Rome  to  Avignon,  in  Provence,  near  the  frontier  of  France.  Here  it 
remained  for  a  space  of  about  seventy  years,  an  era  known  in  church  history 


106  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

as  the  Babylonian  Captivity.  While  it  was  established  here,  all  the  popes  were 
French,  and  of  course  all  their  policies  were  shaped  and  controlled  by  the 
French  kings.  *  *  The  discontent  awakened  among  the  Italians  by  the 
situation  of  the  papal  court  at  length  led  to  an  open  rupture  between  them  and 
the  French  party.  In  1378  the  opposing  factions  each  elected  a  pope,  and  thus 
were  two  heads  of  the  church,  one  at  Avignon  and  the  other  at  Rome.  The 
spectacle  of  two  rival  popes,  each  claimmg^to  be  the  rightful  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  and  the  sole  infallible  head  of  the  church,  very  naturally  led  men  to 
question  the  claims  and  infallibility  of  both.  It  gave  the  reverence  which  the 
world  had  so  generally  held  for  the  Roman  See  a  rude  shock,  and  one  from  which 
it  never  recovered.  Finally,  in  1409,  a  general  council  of  the  church  assembled 
at  Pisa,  for  the  purpose  of  composing  the  shameful  quarrel.  The  council  de- 
posed both  popes,  and  elected  Alexander  V  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  church. 
But  matters,  instead  of  being  mended  hereby,  were  only  made  worse;  for  neither 
of  the  deposed  pontiffs  would  lay  down  his  authority  in  obedience  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  council,  and  consequently  there  were  now  three  popes  instead  of  two. 
In  1414  another  council  was  called,  at  Constance,  tor  the  settlement  of  the  grow- 
ing  dispute.  Two  of  the  claimants  were  deposed  and  one  resigned.  A  new  pope 
was  then  elected — Pope  Martin  V.  In  his  person  the  Catholic  world  was  again 
united  under  a  single  spiritual  head.  The  schism  was  outwardly  healed,  but 
the  wound  had  been  too  deep  not  to  leave  permanent  marks  upon  the  church." 
—  (P.  V.  N.  Meyers,  "Gen.  Hist.,"  pp.  457,  458.  Italics  introduced.) 

The  rupture  between  the  French  and  Italian  factions,  referred  to  by  Meyers 
in  the  quotation  given  above,  is  known  in  history  as  the  Great  Schism.  It  may 
be  regarded  as  the  decisive  beginning  of  decline  in  the  temporal  power  of  the 
popes. 

3.  The  Papacy  Condemns  Itself.  The  line  of  succession  in  the  papacy  for 
a  limited  period,  as  referred  to  in  the  text,  is  given  by  Draper  as  follows: 

"To  some  it  might  seem,  considering  the  interests  of  religion  alone,  de- 
sirable to  omit  all  biographical  reference  to  the  popes;  but  this  cannot  be  done 
with  justice  to  the  subject.  The  essential  principle  of  the  papacy,  that  the 
Roman  pontiff  is  the  vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth,  necessarily  obtrudes  his  per- 
sonal relations  upon  us.  How  shall  we  understand  his  faith  unless  we  see  it 
illustrated  in  his  life?  Indeed,  the  unhappy  character  of  those  relations  was 
the  inciting  cause  of  the  movements  in  Germany,  France,  and  England,  ending 
in  the  extinction  of  the  papacy  as  an  actual  political  power,  movements  to  be 
understood  only  through  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  private  lives  and  opin- 
ions of  the  popes.  It  is  well,  as  far  as  possible,  to  abstain  from  burdening  sys- 
tems with  the  imperfections  of  individuals.  In  this  case  they  are  inseparably 
interwoven.  The  signal  peculiarity  of  the.  papacy  is  that,  though  its  history 
may  be  imposing,  its  biography  is  infamous.  I  shall,  however,  forbear  to  speak 
of  it  in  this  latter  respect  more  than  the  occasion  seems  necessarily  to  require; 
shall  pass  in  silence  some  of  those  cases  which  would  profoundly  shock  my  re- 
ligious reader,  and  therefore  restrict  myself  to  the  ages  between  the  middle  of 
the  eighth  and  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  centuries,  excusing  myself  to  the  im- 
partial critic  by  the  apology  that  these  were  the  ages  with  which  I  have  been 
chiefly  concerned  in  this  chapter. 

"On  the  death  of  Pope  Paul  I,  who  had  attained  the  pontificate  A.  D.  757, 
the  Duke  of  Nepi  compelled  some  bishops  to  consecrate  Constantine,  one  of  his 


NOTES.  107 

brothers,  as  pope;  but  more  legitimate  electors  subsequently,  A.  D.  768,  choos- 
ing Stephen  IV,  the  usurper  and  his  adherents  were  severely  punished;  the  eyes 
of  Constantine  were  put  out;  the  tongue  of  the  Bishop  Theodorus  was  am- 
putated, and  he  was  left  in  a  dungeon  to  expire  in  the  agonies  of  thirst.  The 
nephews  of  Pope  Adrian  seized  his  successor,  Pope  Leo  III,  A.  D.  79,  in  the 
street,  and,  forcing  him  into  a  neighboring  church,  attempted  to  put  out  his 
eyes  and  cut  out  his  tongue;  at  a  later  period,  this  pontiff,  trying  to  suppress  a 
conspiracy  to  depose  him,  Rome  became  the  scene  of  rebellion,  murder  and 
conflagration.  His  successor,  Stephen  V,  A.  D.  816,  was  ignominiously  driven 
from  the  city;  his  successor,  Paschal  I,  was  accused  of  blinding  and  murdering 
two  ecclesiastics  in  the  Lateran  Palace;  it  was  necessary  that  imperial  com- 
missioners should  investigate  the  matter,  but  the  pope  died,  after  having  ex- 
culpated himself  by  oath  before  thirty  bishops.  John  VIII,  A.  D.  872,  unable 
to  resist  the  Mohammedans,  was  compelled  to  pay  them  tribute;  the  Bishop 
of  Naples,  maintaining  a  secret  alliance  with  them,  received  his  share  of  the 
plunder  they  collected.  Him  John  excommunicated,  nor  would  he  give  him 
absolution  unless  he  would  betray  the  chief  Mohammedans  and  assassinate 
others  himself.  There  was  an  ecclesiastical  conspiracy  to  murder  the  pope; 
some  of  the  treasures  of  the  church  were  seized;  and  the  gate  of  St.  Pancrazia 
was  opened  with  false  keys,  to  admit  the  Saracens  into  the  city.  Formosus, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  these  transactions,  and  excommunicated  as  a  con- 
spirator for  the  murder  of  John,  was  subsequently  elected  pope,  A.  D.  891;  he 
was  succeeded  by  Boniface  VI,  A.  D.  896,  who  had  been  deposed  from  the  dia- 
conate,  and  again  from  the  priesthood,  for  his  immoral  and  lewd  life.  By 
Stephen  VII,  who  followed,  the  dead  body  of  Formosus  was  taken  from  the 
grave,  clothed  in  the  papal  habilaments,  propped  in  a  chair,  tried  before  a  coun- 
cil, and  the  preposterous  and  indecent  scene  completed  by  cutting  off  three  of 
the  fingers  of  the  corpse  and  casting  it  into  the  Tiber;  but  Stephen  himself  was 
destined  to  exemplify  how  low  the  papacy  had  fallen:  he  was  thrown  into 
prison  and  strangled.  In  the  course  of  five  years,  from  A.  D.  896  to  A.  D.  900, 
five  popes  were  consecrated.  Leo.  V,  who  succeeded  in  A.  D.  904,  was  in  less 
than  two  months  thrown  into  prison  by  Christopher,  one  of  his  chaplains,  who 
usurped  his  place,  and  who,  in  his  turn,  was  shortly  expelled  from  Rome  by 
Sergius  III,  who,  by  the  aid  of  a  military  force,  seized  the  pontificate,  A.  D. 
905.  This  man,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  times,  lived  in  criminal  inter- 
course with  the  celebrated  prostitute  Theodora,  who,  with  her  daughters 
Marozia  and  Theodora,  also  prostitutes,  exercised  an  extraordinary  control 
over  him.  The  love  of  Theodora  was  also  shared  by  John  X:  she  gave  him  first 
the  archbishopric  of  Ravenna,  and  then  translated  him  to  Rome,  A.  D.  915,  as 
pope.  John  was  not  unsuited  to  the  times;  he  organized  a  confederacy  which 
perhaps  prevented  Rome  from  being  captured  by  the  Saracens,  and  the  world 
was  astonished  and  edified  by  the  appearance  of  this  warlike  pontiff  at  the  head 
of  his  troops.  By  the  love  of  Theodora,  as  was  said,  he  had  maintained  himself 
in  the  papacy  for  fourteen  years;  by  the  intrigues  and  hatred  of  her  daughter 
Marozia  he  was  overthrown.  She  surprised  him  in  the  Lateran  Palace;  killed 
his  brother  Peter  before  his  face;  threw  him  into  prison,  where  he  soon  died, 
smothered,  as  was  asserted,  with  a  pillow.  After  a  short  interval  Marozia 
made  her  own  son  pope  as  John  XI,  A.  D.  931.  Many  affirmed  that  Pope 
Sergius  was  his  father,  but  she  herself  inclined  to  attribute  him  to  her  husband, 
Alberic,  whose  brother  Guido  she  subsequently  married.  Another  of  her  sons, 


108  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

Alberic,  so  called  from  his  supposed  father,  jealous  of  his  brother  John,  cast 
him  and  their  mother  Marozia  into  prison.     After  a  time  Alberic's  son  was 
elected  pope,  A.  D.  956;  he  assumed  the  title  of  John  XII,  the  amorous  Marozia 
thus  having  given  a  son  and  a  grandson  to  the  papacy.    John  was  only  nineteen 
years  old  when  he  thus  became  the  head  of  Christendom.    His  reign  was  charac- 
terized by  the  most  shocking  immoralities,  so  that  the  Emperor  Otho  I  was 
compelled  by  the  German  clergy  to  interfere.  A  synod  was  summoned  for  his 
trial  in  the  Church  of  St.  Peter,  before  which  it  appeared  that  John  had  received 
bribes  for  the  consecration  of  bishops;  that  he  had  ordained  one  who  was  but 
ten  years  old,  and  had  performed  that  ceremony  over  another  in  a  stable;  he 
was  charged  with  incest  with  one  of  his  father's  concubines,  and  with  so  many 
adulteries  that  the  Lateran  Palace  had  become  a  brothel;  he  put  out  the  eyes  of 
one  ecclesiastic,  and  castrated  another,  both  dying  in  consequence  of  their  in- 
juries; he  was  given  to  drunkenness,  gambling  and  the  invocation  of  Jupiter 
and  Venus.    When  cited  to  appear  before  the  council,  he  sent  word  that  'he 
had  gone  out  hunting;'  and  to  the  fathers  who  remonstrated  with  him,  he  threat- 
eningly remarked  'that  Judas,  as  well  as  the  other  disciples,  received  from  his 
Master  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing,  but  that  as  soon  as  he  proved  a 
traitor  to  the  common  cause,  the  only  power  he  retained  was  that  of  binding 
his  own  neck."    Hereupon  he  was  deposed,  and  Leo  VIII  elected  in  his  stead, 
A.  D.  963;  but  subsequently  getting  the  upper  hand,  he  seized  his  antagonists, 
cut  off  the  hand  of  one,  the  nose,  finger,  tongue  of  others.    His  life  was  eventu- 
ally brought  to  an  end  by  the  vengeance  of  a  man  whose  wife  he  had  seduced. 
"After  such  details  it  is  almost  needless  to  allude  to  the  annals  of  succeed- 
ing popes:  to  relate  that  John  XIII  was  strangled  in  prison;  that  Boniface  VII 
imprisoned  Benedict  VII  and  killed  him  by  starvation;  that  John  XIV  was 
secretly  put  to  death  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo;  that  the 
corpse  of  Boniface  was  dragged  by  the  populace  through  the  streets.     The 
sentiment  of  reverence  for  the  sovereign  pontiff,  nay,  even  of  respect,  had  be- 
come extinct  in  Rome;  throughout  Europe  the  clergy  were  so  shocked  at  the 
state  of  things,  that,  in  their  indignation,  they  began  to  look  with  approbation 
on  the  intention  of  the  Emperor  Otho  to  take  from  the  Italians  their  privilege 
of  appointing  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  confine  it  to  his  own  family.    But 
his  kinsman  Gregory  V,  whom  he  placed  on  the  pontifical  throne,  was  very  soon 
compelled  by  the  Romans  to  fly;  his  excommunications  and  religious  thunders 
were  turned  into  derision  by  them;  they  were  too  well  acquainted  with  the  true 
nature  of  those  terrors;  they  were  living  behind  the  scenes.    A  terrible  punish- 
ment awaited  the  Anti-Pope  John  XVI.    Otho  returned  into  Italy,  seized  him, 
put  out  his  eyes,  cut  off  his  nose  and  tongue,  and  sent  him  through  the  streets 
mounted  on  an  ass,  with  his  face  to  the  tail,  and  a  winebladder  on  his  head. 
It  seemed  impossible  that  things  could  become  worse,  yet  Rome  had  still  to 
see  Benedict  IX,  A.  D.  1033,  a  boy  of  less  than  twelve  years,  raised  to  the  apos- 
tolic throne.    Of  this  pontiff,  one  of  his  successors,  Victor  III,  declared  that  his 
life  was  so  shameful,  so  foul,  so  exercrable,  that  he  shuddered  to  describe  it. 
He  ruled  like  a  captain  of  banditti  rather  than  a  prelate.    The  people  at  last, 
unable  to  bear  his  adulteries,  homicides,  and  abominations  any  longer,  rose 
against  him.    In  despair  of  maintaining  his  position,  he  put  the  papacy  up  at 
auction.    It  was  bought  by  a  presbyter  named  John,  who  became  Gregory  VI, 
A.  D.  1045."— (J.  W.  Draper,  "Intellectual  Development  of  Europe,"  Vol.  1, 
ch.  XII,  pp.  378-381.) 


NOTES.  109 

4.  Commentary  on  the  Passage  from  II  Thess.  2:3,  4.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  application  of  Paul's  declaration  as  to  the  apostasy  made  in  the 
text,  is  the  one  generally  made  by  theologians  of  Protestant  denominations. 
It  is  in  no  way  peculiar  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Let 
us  read  the  passage  again:  "Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means:  for  that  day 
[the  day  of  Christ's  promised  advent]  shall  not  come  except  there  come  a 
falling  away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition;  who 
opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped; 
so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  shewing  himself  that  he  is  God." 

In  his  Bible  Commentary,  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  says  of  this  scripture:  "The 
general  run  of  Protestant  writers  understand  the  whole  as  referring  to  the 
popes  and  church  of  Rome,  or  the  whole  system  of  the  papacy.  *  *  *  Bishop 
Newton  has  examined  the  whole  prophecy  with  his  usual  skill  and  judgment. 
*  *  *  The  principal  part  of  modern  commentators  follow  his  steps.  He  applies 
the  whole  to  the  Romish  church:  the  apostasy,  its  defection  from  the  pure 
doctrines  of  Christianity;  and  the  'man  of  sin,'  etc.,  the  general  succession  of 
the  popes  of  Rome."  An  abridgment  of  Bishop  Newton's  interpretation  is 
then  added;  this,  in  part,  is  as  follows: 

"For  that  day  shall  not  come  except,  etc. — The  day  of  Christ  shall  not  come 
except  there  come  the  apostasy  first.  The  apostasy  here  described  is  plainly 
not  of  a  civil,  but  of  a  religious  nature;  not  a  revolt  from  the  government,  but 
a  defection  from  the  true  religion  and  worship.  *  « 

"So  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple,  etc. — By  the  temple  of  God  the  apostle 
could  not  well  mean  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  because  that,  he  knew,  would  be 
destroyed  within  a  few  years.  After  the  death  of  Christ,  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem is  never  called  the  temple  of  God;  and  if,  at  any  time,  they  make  mention 
of  the  house  or  temple  of  God,  they  mean  the  church  in  general  or  every  par- 
ticular believer.  Whoever  will  consult  I  Cor.  3:16,  17;  II  Cor.  6:16;  I  Tim.  3:15; 
Rev.  3:12,  will  want  no  examples  to  prove  that  under  the  gospel  dispensation, 
the  temple  of  God  is  the  Church  of  Christ;  and  the  man  of  sin's  sitting  implies 
his  ruling  and  presiding  there.  *  *  * 

"Upon  this  survey,  there  appears  little  room  to  doubt  of  the  general  sense 
and  meaning  of  the  passage.  The  Thessalonians,  (as  we  have  seen  from  some 
expressions  in  the  former  epistle,)  were  alarmed  as  if  the  end  of  the  world  was 
at  hand.  The  apostle,  to  correct  their  mistake  and  dissipate  their  fears,  assures 
them  that  a  great  apostasy  or  defection  of  the  Christians  from  the  true  faith 
and  worship  must  happen  before  the  coming  of  Christ.  This  apostasy,  all  the 
concurrent  marks  and  characters  will  justify  us  in  charging  upon  the  church 
of  Rome.  The  true  Christian  worship  is  the  worship  of  the  only  true  God, 
through  the  one  only  Mediator,  the  man  Jesus  Christ,  and  from  this  worship 
the  church  of  Rome  has  most  notoriously  departed,  by  substituting  other  media- 
tors, and  invoking  and  adoring  saints  and  angels;  nothing  is  apostasy  if  idolatry 
be  not.  *  *  *  If  the  apostasy  be  rightly  charged  upon  the  church  of  Rome,  it 
follows,  of  consequence,  that  the  'man  of  sin'  is  the  pope,  not  meaning  any 
pope  in  particular,  but  the  pope  in  general,  as  the  chief  head  and  supporter  of 
this  apostasy." 

The  opinion  of  Dr.  MacKnight  is  also  cited  with  approval  by  Clarke.    In 


110  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

his  "Commentary  and  Notes"— (Vol.  Ill,  p.  100,  etc.)  MacKnight  says: 
"As  it  is  said,  the  man  of  sin  was  to  be  revealed  in  his  season,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  dark  ages,  in  which  all  learning  was  overturned  by  the  irrup- 
tion of  the  northern  barbarians,  were  the  season  allotted  to  the  man  of  sin  for 
revealing  himself.  Accordingly  we  know,  that  in  these  ages,  the  corruptions 
of  Christianity,  and  the  usurpations  of  the  clergy,  were  carried  to  the  greatest 
height.  In  short,  the  annals  of  the  world  cannot  produce  persons  and  events 
to  which  the  things  written  in  this  passage  can  be  applied  with  so  much  fitness 
as  to  the  bishops  of  Rome." 


CHAPTER  X. 
Results  of  the  Apostasy. — Its  Sequel. 

1.  The  thoroughly  apostate  and  utterly  corrupt  condition 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  as  proclaimed  by  its  history  down  to  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century, —  (See  Note  1,  end  of  chapter.) 
was  necessarily  accompanied  by  absence  of  all  spiritual  sanctity 
and  power,  whatever  may  have  been  the  arrogant  assumptions 
of  the  Church  as  to  authority  in  spiritual  affairs.     Revolts 
against  the  Church,  both  as  rebellion  against  her  tyranny  and 
in  protest  against   her   heresies,  were  not  lacking.     The  most 
significant  of  these  anti-church  agitations  arose  in  connection 
with  the  awakening  of  intellectual  activity  which  began  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.    The  period  from  the  tenth 
century  onward  to  the  time  of  the  awakening  has  come  to  be 
known  as  the  dark  ages — characterized  by  stagnation  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  useful  arts  and  sciences  as  well  as  of  fine  arts  and 
letters,  and  by  a  general  condition  of  illiteracy  and  ignorance 
among  the  masses. 

2.  Ignorance  is  a  fertile  soil  for  evil  growths,  and  the  des- 
potic government  and  doctrinal  fallacies  of  the  Church  during 
this  period  of  darkness  were  nourished  by  the  ignorance  of  the 


REVOLTS  AGAINST  THE  CHURCH.  Ill 

times.     With  the  change  known  in  history  as  "the  revival  of 
learning"  came  the  struggle  for  freedom  from  churchly  tyranny. 

3.  One  of  the  early  revolts  against  the  temporal  and  spirit- 
ual despotism  of  the  papal  church  was  that  of  the  Albifeenses  in  /B 
France  during  the  thirteenth  century.  This  uprising  nad  been 
crushed  by  the  papal  autocracy  with  much  cruelty  and  blood- 
shed.   The  next  notable  revolt  was  that  of  John  Wickliffejn  the 
fourteenth  century.  Wickliffe  was  a  professor  in  Oxford  universi- 
ty,  England.     He  boldly  assailed  the  evergrowing  and  greatly 
abused  power  of  the  monks,  and  denounced  the  corruption  of 
the  Church  and  the  prevalence  of  doctrinal  errors.  He  was  par- 
ticularly emphatic  in  his  opposition  to  the  papal  restrictions  as 

to  the  pouplar  study  of  the  scriptures,  and  gave  to  the  world  an 
English  version  of  the  Holy  Bible  translated  from  the  Vulgate.^ 
In  spite  of  persecution  and  sentence,  he  died  a  natural  deathT 
but  years  afterward  the  Church  insisted  on  revenge,  and  in  con- 
sequence, his  bones  were  exhumed  and  burned,  and  the  ashes 
scattered  to  the  winds. 

4.  On  the  continent  of  Europe  the  agitation  against  the 
Church  was  carried  on  by  John_Huss  and  by  Jerome  of  Prague, 
both  of  whom  reaped  martyrdom  as  the  harvest  of  their  right-  " 
eous  zeal.     These  instances  are  cited  to  show  that  though  the 
Church  had  long  been  apostate  to  the  core,  there  were  men  ready 
to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  what  they  deemed  to  be  the  cause  of 
truth. 

5.  Conditions  existing  at  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury have  been  concisely  summarized  by  a  modern  historian  as 
follows:  "Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  there 
had  been  comparatively  few — though  there  had  been  some,  like 
the^Albigenses  in  the  south  of  France,  the  Wickliffites^jn  Eng-     „ 
Iand7  and  the  iiussites,  in  Bohemia— who  denied  thesupreme 
and  infallible  auttTorTEy"  of  thlTETshop  of  Rome  in  all  matters 
touching  religion.     Speaking  in  very  general  manner  it  would 
be  correct  to  say  that  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  all  the 
nations  of  Western  Europe  professed  the  faith  of  the  Latin  or 
Roman  Catholic  Church  and  yielded  obedience  to  the  Papal 
See."— (Myers,  "Gen.  Hist.,"  p.  520.) 

The  Reformation. 

6.  The  next  notable  revolt  against  the  papal  Church  oc- 


112  _-  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 


cured  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  assumed  such  proportions 
as  to  be  designated  the  Reformation.  The  movement  began  in 
Germany  about  1517,  wfieiTMartin  Luther,  a  monk  of  the  Au- 
gustmian  order  and  an  instructor  in  thellniversity  of  Wittenberg, 
publicly  opposed  and  strongly  denounced  Tetzel,  the  shameless 
agent  of  papal  indulgences.  Luther  was  conscientious  in  his 
conviction  that  the  whole  system  of  church  penances  and  in- 
dulgences was  contrary  to  scripture,  reason,  and  right.  In  line 
with  the  academic  custom  of  the  day  —  to  challenge  discussion 
and  debate  on  disputed  questions  —  Luther  wrote  his  famous 
ninety-five  theses  against  the  practice  of  granting  indulgences, 
and  a  copy~of  these  he  nailed  to  the  door  of  Wittenberg  o.Vmroli, 
inviting  criticism  thereon  from  all  scholars.  The  news  spread, 
and  the  theses  were  discussed  in  all  the  scholastic  centers  of 
Europe.  Luther  then  attacked  other  practices  and  doctrines  of 
the  Roman  Church,  and  the  pope,  Leo  X,  issued  a  "Bull"  or 
papal  decree  against  him,  demanding  an  unconditional  recanta- 
tion on  pain  of  excommunication  from  the  Church.  Luther 
publicly  burned  the  pope's  document,  and  thus  declared  his 
open  revolt.  The  sentence  of  excommunication  was  pronounced. 

7.  We  cannot  follow  here  in  detail  the  doings  of  this  bold 
reformer.    Suffice  it  to  say,  he  was  not  long  left  to  fight  single- 
handed.    Among  this  able  supporters  was  Phillip  Melancthon,  a 
professor  in  Wittenberg.  Luther  was  summoned  before  a  council 
or  "Diet"  at  Worms  in  1521.    There  he  openly  declared  for  indi- 
vidual freedom  of  conscience.    There  is  inspiration  in  his  words: 
"I  cannot  submit  my  faith  either  to  the  pope  or  to  the  council, 

^because  it  is  as  clear  as  the  day  that  they  have  frequently  erred 
and  contradicted  each  other.  Unless,  therefore,  I  am  convinced 
by  the  testimony  of  scripture,  or  by  the  clearest  reasoning  —  un- 
less I  am  persuaded  by  means  of  the  passages  I  have  quoted,— 
and  unless  they  thus  render  my  conscience  bound  by  the  word  of 
God,  I  cannot  and  will  not  retract,  for  it  is  unsafe  for  a  Christian 
to  speak  against  his  conscience.  Here  I  stand,  I  can  do  no  other, 
may  God  help  me\  Amenl" 

8.  The  religious  controversy  spread  throughout  Europe. 
At  the  Second  Diet  of  Spires  (1529)  an  edict  was  issued  against 
the  reformers;  to  this  the  representatives  of  seven  German  prin- 
cipalities and  other  delegates  entered  a  formal  protest,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  action  the  reformers  were  henceforth  known 


THE  REFORMATION.  113 

as_Protestants.  John,  Elector  of  Saxony,  supported  Luther  in  his 
opposition  to  papal  authority,  and  undertook  the  establishment 
of  an  independent  church,  the  constitution  and  plan  of  which 
were  prepared  at  his  instance  by  Luther  and  Melancthon.  Luther 
died  in  1546,  but  the  work  of  revolution,  if  not  in  truth  reforma- 
tion, continued  to  grow.  The  Protestants,  however,  soon  became 
divided  among  themselves,  and  broke  up  into  many  contending 
sects. 

9.  In  Switzerland,  Ulrich  Zwingle  led  in  the  movement  to- 
ward reform.  He  was  accused  of  heresy,  and  when  placed  on 
trial,  he  defended  himself  on  the  authority  of  the  Bible  as  against 
papal  edict,  and  was  for  the  time  successful.    The  contest  was 
bitter,  and  in  1531  the  Catholics  and  Protestants  of  the  region 
engaged  in  actual  battle,  in  which  Zwingle  was  slain,  and  his 
body  brutally  mutilated. 

10.  John  Calvin  next  appeared  as  the  leader  of  the  Swiss 
reformers,  though  he  was  an  opponent  of  many  of  Zwingle' s  doc- 
trines.  He  exerted  great  influence  as  a  teacher,  and  is  known  as 
an  extremist  in  doctrine.     He  advocated  and  vehemently  de- 
fended the  tenet  of  absolute  predestination,  thus  denying  the 
free  agency  of  man.  In  France,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Holland, 
leaders  arose  and  the  Protestants  became  strong  in  their  op- 
position to  the  Roman  Church,  though  the  several  divisions 
were  antagonistic  to  one  another  on  many  points  of  doctrine. 

11.  One  effect  of  this  Protestant  uprising  was  the  partial 
awakening  of  the  Roman  Church  to  the  need  of  internal  reform, 
and  an  authoritative  re-statement  of  Catholic  principles  was 
attempted.    This  movement  was  largely  accomplished  through 
the  famous  Council  of  Trent — (1545-1563),  which  body  disa- 
vowed for  the~Church  tne  extreme  claims  made  for  'indulgences' 
and  denied  responsibility  for  many  of  the  abuses  with  which  the 
Church  had  been  charged.  But  in  connection  with  the  attempted 
reform  came  a  demand  for  more  implicit  obedience  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Church.  oh^i 

12.  Near  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  the  reign 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  court  of  the  Inquisition,  then  known 
as  the  Holy  Utnce,  had  been  establishecTTn  Spain.    The  prime 
purpose  of  this  secret  tribunal  was  the  detection  and  punishment 
of  heresy.     Of  this  infamous  institution  as  operative  in  Spain, 
Myers  says:  "The  Holy  Office,  as  the  tribunal  was  styled,  thus 


114  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

became  the  instrument  of  the  most  incredible  cruelty.  Thous- 
ands were  burned  at  the  stake,  and  tens  of  thousands  more  con- 
demned to  endure  penalties  scarcely  less  terrible.  Queen  Isa- 
bella, in  giving  her  consent  to  the  establishment  of  the  tribunal 
in  her  dominions,  was  doubtless  actuated  by  the  purest  religious 
zeal,  and  sincerely  believed  that  in  suppressing  heresy  she  was 
discharging  a  simple  duty,  and  rendering  God  good  service. 
'In  the  love  of  Christ  and  His  Maid-Mother,'  she  says,  'I  have 
caused  great  misery.  I  have  depopulated  towns  and  districts, 
provinces  and  kingdoms.'  —(Myers,  "Gen.  Hist."  p.  500.) 

13.  Now,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  connection  with  the 
attempted  reform  in  the  doctrines  of  Catholicism,  the  terrible 
Inquisition  "assumed  new  vigor  and  activity,  and  heresy  was 
sternly  dealt  with."     Consider  the  following  as  throwing  light 
on  the  condition  of  that  time:  "At  this  point,  in  connection  with 
the  persecutions  of  the  Inquisition,  we  should  not  fail  to  recall 
that  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  refusal  to  conform  to  the  estab- 
lished worship  was  regarded  by  all,  by  Protestants  as  well  as 
Catholics,  as  a  species  of  treason  against  society  and  was  dealt 
with  accordingly.     Thus  we  find  Calvin  at  Geneva  consenting 
to  the  burning  of  Servetus  (1553)  because  he  published  views 
that  the  Calvinists  thought  heretical;  and  in  England  we  see  the 
Anglican  Protestants  waging  the  most  cruel,  bitter,  and  persis- 
tent persecutions,  not  only  against  the  Catholics  but  also  against 
all  Protestants  that  refused  to   conform  to  the  Established 
Church."— (Myers,  "Gen.  Hist.,"  p.   527.) 

14.  What  shall  be  said  of  a  Church  that  seeks  to  propagate 
its  faith  by  such  methods?  Are  fire  and  sword  the  weapons  with 
which  truth  fights  her  battles?  Are  torture  and  death  the  argu- 
ments of  the  gospel?     However  terrible  the  persecutions  to 
which  the  early  Church  was  subjected  at  the  hands  of  heathen 
enemies,  the  persecutions  waged  by  the  apostate  church  are  far 
more  terrible.     Can  such  a  church  by  any  possibility  be  the 
Church  of  Christ?     Heaven  forbid! 

15.  In  the  revolts  we  have  noted  against  the  Church  of 
Rome,  notably  in  the  Reformation,  the  zeal  of  the  reformers  led 
to  many  fallacies  in  the  doctrines  they  advocated.    Luther,  him- 
self, proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  absolute  predestination  and  of 
justification  by  faith  alone,  thus  nullifying  belief  in  the  God- 
given  rights  of  free  agency,  and  impairing  the  importance  of 


THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.          115 

individual  effort. —  (See  the  Author's  "Articles  of  Faith," 
Lecture  5. )  Calvin  and  others  were  no  less  extreme.  Neverthe- 
less their  ministry  contributed  to  the  awakening  of  individual 
conscience,  and  assisted  in  bringing  about  a  measure  of  religious 
freedom  of  which  the  world  had  long  been  deprived. —  (See  note 
2,  end  of  chapter.) 

(    Rise  of  the  Church  of  England.     ) 

V  <J 

16.  At  ihe  time  of  Martin  Luther's  revolt  against  the 
Church  of  Rome,  Henry  VIII  reigned  in  England.    In  common 
with  all  other  countries  of  western  Europe,  Britain  was  pro- 
foundly stirred  by  the  reformation  movement.    The  king  openly 
defended  the  Catholic  Church  and  published  a  book  in  opposition 
to  Luther's  claims.  This  so  pleased  the  pope,  Leo  X,  that  he  con- 
ferred upon  ging  Henry  the  distinguishing  title,  "Defender  of 
the  Faith."    This  took  place  about  1522,  and  from  that  time  to 

~the  present,  British  sovereigns  have  proudly  borne  the  title. 

17.  Within  a  few  years  after  his  accession  to  this  title  of 
distinction,  we  find  King  Henry  among  the  bitterest  enemies  of 
the  Roman  Church,  and  the  change  came  about  in  this  wise. 
Henry  desired  a  divorce  from  his  wife,  Queen  Catherine,  to  give 
him  freedom  to  marry  Anne  BoJeyrK    lfrie  pope  nesitated  in  the 
matter  of  granting  the  divT5r^e,"aribTHenry,  becoming  impatient, 
disregarded  the  pope's  authority  and  secretly  married  Anne 
Boleyn.     The  pope  thereupon  excommunicated  the  king  from 
the  Church.    The  English  parliament,  following  the  king's  direc- 
tions, passed  the  celebrated  Act  of  Supremacy  in  1534.     This 
statute  declared  an  absolute  termination  01  all  allegiance  to 
papal  authority,  and  proclaimed  the  king  as  supreme  head  of 
the  Church  of  Britain.    Thus  originated  the  Church  of  England, 
without  regard  for  or  claim  of   divine  authority,  and  without 
even  a  semblance  of  priestly  succession. 

18.  At  first  there  was  little  innovation  in  doctrine  or  ritual 
in  the  newly  formed  church.    It  originated  in~revolt.    Later  a 
form  of  creed  and  a  plan  of  organization  were  adopted,  giving 
the  Church  of  England  some  distinctive  features.     During  the 
reigns  of  Edward  VI,  Queen  Mary,  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  per- 
secutions between  Catholics  and  Protestants  were  extensive 
and  violent.     Several  non-conformist  sects  arose,  among  them 
the  Puritans  and  the  Separatists.    These  were  so  persecuted  that 


116  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

many  of  them  fled  to  Holland  as  exiles.  From  among  these  came 
the  notable  colony  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  who  crossed  in  the 
Mayflower  to  the  shores  of  the  then  recently-discovered  con- 
tinent, and  established  themselves  in  America. 

19.  The  thoughtful  student  cannot  fail  to  see  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  great  apostasy  and  its  results  the  existence  of  an 
overruling  power,  operating  toward  eventual  good,  however 
mysterious  its  methods.     The  heart-rending  persecutions  to 
which  the  saints  were  subjected  in  the  early  centuries  of  our  era, 
the  anguish,  the  torture,  the  bloodshed,  incurred  in  defense  of 
the  testimony  of  Christ,  the  rise  of  an  apostate  church,  blight- 
ing the  intellect  and  leading  captive  the  souls  of  men — all  these 
dread  scenes  were  foreknown  to  the  Lord.    While  we  cannot  say 
or  believe  that  such  exhibitions  of  human  depravity  and  blas- 
phemy of  heart  were  in  accordance  with  the  divine  will,  certainly 
'God  willed  to  permit  full  scope  to  the  free  agency  of  man,  m  the 
exercise  of  which  agency  some^won  the  martyr's  crowryand 
others  filled  the  measure  of  their*lniquity  to  overflowing. 

20.  Not  less  marked  is  the  divine  permission  in  the  revolts 
and  rebellions,  in  the  revolutions  and  reformations,  that  de- 
veloped in  opposition  to  the  darkening  influence  of  the  apostate 
church.    Wycliffe-  and  Huss^Luther  and  Melancthon,  Zwingle. 
and  Calvin,  Henry  VIII  in  his  arrogant  assumption  of  priestly 
authority,  John  Knox  in  Scotland,  Roger  Williams  in  America 
— these  and  a  host  of  others  builded"  better  than  they  knew,  in 
that  their  efforts  laid  in  part  the  foundation  of  the  structure  of 
religious  freedom  and  liberty  of  conscience, — and  this  in  prep- 
aration for  the  restoration  of  the  gospel  as  had  been  divinely 
predicted. 

21.  From  the  sixteenth  century  down  to  the  present  time, 

sects  professedly  founded  on  the  tenets  of  Christianity  have 

multiplied  apace.    They  are  now  to  be  numbered  by  hundreds. 

/   On  every  side  the  claim  has  been  heard,  "Lo,  here  is  Christ," 

/  or  "Lo,  there."     There  are  churches  named  after  their  place  of 

y  origin — as  the  Church  of  England;  other  sects  are  designated  in 

(    honor  of  their  famous  promoters — as  Lutherans,   Calvinists, 

)  Wesleyans;  others  are  known  from  some  peculiarity  of  creed  or 

\  doctrine — as  Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and  Baptists;  but  down 

(to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  no  church 

/even  claiming  name  or  title  as  the  Church  of  Christ.    The  only 

i 


ABSENCE  OF  PRIESTHOOD.  117 

Church  existing  at  that  time  venturing  to  assert  authority  by 
succession  was  the  Catholic  Church,  which  as  shown  was  wholly 
without  priesthood  or  divine  commission. 

22.  If  the  "Mother  Church"  be  without  divine  authority  or 
spiritual  power,  how  can  her  children  derive  from  her  the  right 
to  officiate  in  the  things  of  God?  Who  dares  affirm  the  absurdity 
that  man  can  originate  for  himself  a  priesthood  which  God  shall 
honor  and  respect.    Granted  that  men  may,  can  and  do,  create 
among  themselves  societies,  associations,  sects,  and  churches  if 
they  choose  so  to  designate  their  religious  organizations;  granted 
that  they  may  formulate  laws,  prescribe  rules,  and  construct 
elaborate  plans  of  organization  and  government,  and  that  all 
such  laws,  rules  and  schemes  of  administration  are  binding  upon 
those  who  voluntarily  assume  membership, — granted  all  these 
powers  and  rights — whence  can  such  human  creations  derive 
the  authority  of  the  holy  Priesthood,  without  which  there  can 
be  no  Church  of  Christ?    If  the  power  and  authority  be,  by  any 
possibility,  of  human  origin,  there  never  has  been  a  Church  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  the  alleged  saving  ordinances  of  the  gospel 
have  never  been  other  than  empty  forms. 

23.  Our  review  of  the  Great  Apostasy  as  presented  in  this 
treatise,  does  not  call  for  any  detailed  or  critical  study  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  as  it  exists  in  modern  times,  nor  of  any 
of  the  numerous  Protestant  denominations  that  have  come  into 
existence  as  dissenting  children  of  the  so-called  'Mother  Church.' 

JThe  apostasy  was  complete,  as  far  as  actual  loss  of  priesthood 
"ancfcessation  of  spiritual  power  ir^  the  Church  are  concerned. 
long  prior  to  the  sixteenth  centurjTrevolt,  known  in  history  as 
the  Reformation.  It  is  instructive  to  observe,  however,  that  the 
weakness  of  the  Protestant  sects  as  to  any  claim  to  divine  ap- 
pointment and  authority,  is  recognized  by  those  churches  them- 
selves. The  Church  of  England,  which,  as  shown,  originated  in 
revolt  against  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  its  pope,  is  with- 
out foundation  of  claim  to  divine  authority  in  its  priestly  orders, 
unless,  indeed,  it  dare  assert  the  absurdity  that  kings  and  parlia- 
ments can  create  and  take  unto  themselves  heavenly  authority 
by  enactment  of  earthly  statutes. 

24.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  at  least  consistent  in 
its  claim  that  a  line  of  succession  in  the  priesthood  has  been 
maintained  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the  present,  though  the 


118  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

claim  is  utterly  untenable  in  the  light  of  a  rational  interpreta- 
tion of  history.  But  the  fact  remains  that  the  Catholic  Church 
is  the  only  organization  venturing  to  assert  the  present  pos- 
session of  the  holy  priesthood  by  unbroken  descent  from  the 
apostles  of  our  Lord.  The  Church  of  England,  chief  among  the 
Protestant  sects,  and  all  other  dissenting  churches,  are  by  their 
own  admission  and  by  the  circumstances  of  their  origin,  man- 
made  institutions,  without  a  semblance  of  claim  to  the  powers 
and  authority  of  the  holy  priesthood. 

25.  As  late  as  1896  the  question  of  the  validity  of   the 
priestly  orders  in  the  Church  of  England  was  officially  and 
openly  discussed  and  considered,  both  in  England  and  at  Rome. 
Lord  Halifax,  chairman  of  the  English  Church  Union,  conferred 
with  the  Vatican  authorities  to  ascertain  the  possibility  of 
bringing   about   closer   union   between   the   Roman    Catholic 
Church  and  the  Church  of  England.    This  involved  the  question 
of  the  recognition  of  the  priestly  orders  of  the  Anglican  Church 
by  the  pope   and  Church  of   Rome.        The  movement  was 
favored  in  the  interests  of  unity  and  peace  by  the  English 
premier,  Mr.  Gladstone.    The  pope,  Leo  XIII,  finally  issued  a 
decree  refusing  to  recognize  in  any  degree  the  authority  of  the 
Anglican  orders,  and  expressly  declaring  all  claims  to  priestly 
authority  by  the  Church  of  England  as  absolutely  invalid. 

26.  Assuredly  the  Church  of  Rome  could  take  no  other 
action  than  this  and  maintain  the  consistency  of  its  own  claim 
to  exclusive  possession  of  the  priesthood  by  descent.    Assuredly 
the  Church  of  England  would  have  sought  no  official  recogni- 
tion of  its  priestly  status  by  the  Church  of  Rome  had  it  any 
independent  claim  to  the  power  and  authority  of  the  priesthood. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  declares  that  all  Protestant  de- 
nominations are  either  apostate  organizations,  or  institutions  of 
human  creation  that  have  never  had  even  a  remote  connection 
with  the  church  that  claims  succession  in  the  priesthood.     In 
short,  the  apostate  "Mother  Church"  aggressively  proclaims 
the  perfidy  of  her  offspring. 

The  Apostasy  Admitted. 

27.  The  fact  of  the  great  apostasy  is  admitted.  Many  theo- 
logians who  profess  a  belief  in  Christianity  have  declared  the 
fact.    Thus  we  read:  "We  must  not  expect  to  see  the  Church  of 


THE  APOSTASY  ADMITTED.  119 

Christ  existing  in  its  perfection  on  the  earth.  It  is  not  to  be 
found  thus  perfect,  either  in  the  collected  fragments  of  Christen- 
dom or  still  less  in  any  one  of  those  fragments." — (Smith's 
"Dictionary  of  the  Bible.")  v_ 

28.  John  Wesley,  who  lived  from  1703  to  1791  A.  D.,  and  | 
who  ranks  as  chief  among  the  founders  of  Methodism,  comments 
as  follows  on  the  apostasy  of  the  Christian  ChurclTas  evidenced 
by  the  early  decline  of  spiritual  power  and  the  cessation  of  the 
gifts  and  graces  of  the  Spirit  of  God  within  the  Church:  "It 
does  not  appear  that  these  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — (See  I  Cor.,  ch.  12.)  were  common  in  the  Church  for 
more  than  two  or  three  centuries.    We  seldom  hear  of  them  after 
that  fatal  period  when  the  Emperor  Constantine  called  himself 

a  Christian,  and  from  a  vain  imagination  of  promoting  the 
Christian  cause  thereby  heaped  riches  and  power  and  honor 
upon  Christians  in  general,  but  in  particular  upon  the  Christian 
clergy.  From  this  time  they  almost  totally  ceased,  very  few 
instances  of  the  kind  being  found.  The  cause  of  this  was  not,  as 
has  been  supposed,  because  there  was  no  more  occasion  for 
them,  because  all  the  world  was  become  Christians.  This  is  a 
miserable  mistake;  not  a  twentieth  part  of  it  was  then  nominally 
Christians.  The  real  cause  of  it  was  that  the  love  of  many,  al- 
most all  Christians,  so-called,  was  waxed  cold.  The  Christians 
had  no  more  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  than  the  other  heathens. 
The  Son  of  Man,  when  He  came  to  examine  His  Church,  could 
hardly  find  faith  upon  earth.  This  was  the  real  cause  why  the 
extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  no  longer  to  be 
found  in  the  Christian  church — because  the  Christians  were 
turned  heathens  again,  and  only  had  a  dead  form  left." — (John 
Wesley's  Works.  Vol.  VII,  89:26-27.  See  Note  3,  end  of  I 
chapter.) 

29.  The  Church  of  England  makes  official  declaration  of 
degeneracy  and  loss  of  divine  authority  in  these  words:  "Laity 
and  clergy,  learned  and  unlearned,  all  ages,  sects,  and  degrees, 
have  been  drowned  in  abominable  idolatry  most  detested  by 
God  and  damnable  to  man  for  eight  hundred  years  and  more." 
—(Church  of  England  "Homily  on  Perils  of  Idolatry,"  p.  3.) 
The"Book  of  Jlomiliesr^  in  which  occurs  this  declaration  by 
tfie~~CKurch  of  England,  dates  from  about  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century.    According  to  this  official  statement,  there- 


120  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

fore,  the  religious  world  had  been  utterly  apostate  for  eight  cen- 
turies prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
fact  of  a  universal  apostasy  was  widely  proclaimed,  for  the 
/  homilies  from  which  the  foregoing  citation  is  taken  were  "ap- 
pointed to  be  read  in  churches"  in  lieu  of  sermons  under  speci- 
fied condition. 

30.  The  great  apostasy  was  divinely  predicted;  its  accomplish- 
ment is  attested  by  both  sacred  and  secular  writ. 

31.  To  the  faithful  Latter-day  Saint,  a  concluding  proof  of 
the  universal  apostasy  and  of  the  absolute  need  of  a  restoration 
of  Priesthood  from  the  heavens  will  be  found  in  the  divine 
reply  to  the  inquiry  of  the  boy  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  as  to 
which  of  all  the  contending  sects  was  right:  "I  was  answered 
that  I  must  join  none  of  them,  for  they  were  all  wrong;  and  the 

-3^  personage  who  addressed  me  said  that  all  their  creeds  were  an 
&  abomination  in  His  sight;  that  those  professors  were  all  corrupt; 
that  'they  draw  near  to  me  with  their  lips,  but  their  hearts  are 
far  from  me;  they  teach  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of 
men,  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  they  deny  the  power  there- 
of.' '  -(Pearl  of  Great  Price,  p.  85,  par.  19.) 

The  Sequel. 

32.  The  sequel  of  the  Great  Apostasy  is  the  Restoration  of 
the  Gospel,  marking  the  inauguration  of  the  Dispensation  of  the 
Fulness  of  Times.     This  epoch-making  event  occurred  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  Father  and  the 
Son  manifested  themselves  to  man,  and  when  the  Holy  Priest- 
hood with  all  its  powers  and  authority  was  again  brought  to 
earth. 

33.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  pro- 
"  claims  to  the  world  this  glorious  restoration, — at  once  the  con- 
summation of  the  work  of  God  throughout  the  ages  past,  and 
the  final  preparation  for  the  second  advent  of  Jesus,  the  Christ. 
The  Church  affirms  that  after  the  long  night  of  spiritual  dark- 
ness, the  light  of  heaven  has  again  come;  and  that  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  authoritatively  established.     The  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  stands  alone  in  the  declaration  that 
the  Holy  Priesthood  is  operative  upon  earth,  not  as  an  inherit- 
ance through  earthly  continuation  from  the  apostolic  age,  but 
as  the  endowment  of  a  new  dispensation,  brought  to  earth  by 


NOTES.  121 

heavenly  ministration.  In  this  restoration,  divinely  predicted 
and  divinely  achieved,  has  been  witnessed  a  realization  of  the 
Revelator's  vision: 

"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  saying 
with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him;  for  the  hour 
of  his  judgment  is  come:  and  worship  him  that  made  heaven, 
and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  waters." — (Rev. 
14:6,  7.  For  treatment  of  the  Restoration  of  the  Gospel  see  the 
Author's  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  11.  See  Notes  4  and  5, 
end  of  chapter.) 

NOTES. 

1.  Papist  Testimony  to  the  Corruption  of  the  Church.  "The  judicious  student 
of  ecclesiastical  history  will  observe  that  I  constantly  endeavor  to  draw  my 
proofs  from  the  most  unexceptionable  sources.  For  example:  To  prove  the 
corrupt  state  of  the  clergy,  and  the  abominable  practices  of  the  Roman  See, 
I  would  produce  the  evidence  of  George  of  Saxony,  a  most  bigoted  papist, 
whom  the  Roman  Catholics  always  reckon  among  the  most  sincere  and  most 
active  of  the  holy  defenders  of  their  religion.  Now,  as  with  them  the  asser- 
tions of  Luther  and  the  other  reformers  go  for  nothing  but  exaggerations,  mis- 
representations, or  direct  falsehoods,  let  them  listen  at  least  to  this  duke,  their 
steady  friend  and  advocate,  who  generally,  in  religious  concerns,  opposed  his 
relation,  the  elector  of  Saxony,  and  who  also  entirely  approved  of  Luther's 
condemnation  at  Worms.  This  George  of  Saxony  exhibited  to  the  Diet  twelve 
heads  of  the  grievances  which  called  loudly  for  reform.  Two  of  these  are 
briefly  as  follows:  1.  Indulgences,  which  ought  to  be  obtained  by  prayers, 
fastings,  benevolence  towards  our  neighbor,  and  other  good  works,  are  sold 
for  money.  Their  value  is  extolled  beyond  all  decency.  The  sole  object  is  to 
gain  a  deal  of  money.  Hence  the  preachers,  who  are  bound  to  set  forth  truth, 
teach  men  nothing  but  lies  and  frauds.  They  are  not  only  suffered  to  go  on 
thus,  but  are  well  paid  for  their  fraudulent  harangues.  The  reason  is  the  more 
conviction  they  can  produce  among  their  hearers,  the  more  money  flows  into 
the  chest.  Rivers  of  scandalous  proceedings  arise  from  this  corrupt  fountain. 
The  officials  of  the  bishops  are  equally  attentive  to  scrape  money  together. 
They  vex  the  poor  with  their  censures  for  great  crimes,  as  whoredom,  adultery, 
blasphemy;  but  they  spare  the  rich.  The  clergy  commit  the  very  same  crimes, 
and  nobody  censures  them.  Faults  which  ought  to  be  expiated  by  prayers  and 
fastings  are  atoned  for  by  money,  in  order  that  the  officials  may  pay  large  sums 
to  their  respective  bishops,  and  retain  a  portion  of  the  gain  for  themselves. 
Neither  when  a  mulct  is  inflicted,  is  it  done  in  a  way  to  stop  the  commission 
of  the  same  fault  in  future,  but  rather  so  that  the  delinquent  understands  he 
may  soon  do  that  very  thing  again,  provided  he  be  but  ready  to  pay.  Hence, 
all  the  sacraments  are  sold  for  money;  and  where  that  is  not  to  be  had,  they  are 
absolutely  neglected.  2.  Another  distinct  head  of  the  grievances  produced 


122  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

by  this  zealous  duke  was  expressed  thus:  "The  scandalous  conduct  of  the  clergy 
is  a  very  fruitful  source  of  the  destruction  of  poor  souls.  There  must  be  a 
universal  reformation;  and  this  cannot  be  better  effected  than  by  a  general 
council.  It  is  therefore,  the  most  earnest  wish  of  us  all  that  such  a  measure  be 
adopted." — (Milner,  "Church  History,"  Cent.  XVI,  ch.  6.  Footnote.) 

2.  Extremes  Incident  to  the  Reformation.     "What  were  the  reproaches 
constantly  applied  to  the  Reformation  by  its  enemies?    Which  of  its  results 
are  thrown  in  its  face,  as  it  were,  unanswerable?    The  two  principal  reproaches 
are,  first,  the  multiplicity  of  sects,  the  excessive  license  of  thought,  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  spiritual  authority,  and  the  entire  dissolution  of  religious  society; 
secondly,  tyranny  and  persecution.    'You  provoke  licentiousness,'  it  has  been 
said  to  the  Reformers:  'you  produce  it;  and,  after  being  the  cduse  of  it,  you  wish 
to  restrain  and  repress  it.    And  how  do  you  repress  it?    By  the  most  harsh  and 
violent  means.    You  take  upon  yourselves,  too,  to  punish  heresy,  and  that  by 
virtue  of  an  illegitimate  authority.'  " — Guizot. 

"The  Sectarian  dogma  of  Justification  by  Faith  alone  has  exercised  an 
influence  for  evil  since  the  early  days  of  Christianity.  The  idea  upon  which  this 
pernicious  doctrine  was  founded,  was  at  first  associated  with  that  of  an  ab- 
solute predestination,  by  which  man  was  foredoomed  to  destruction,  or  to  an 
utterly  undeserved  salvation.  Thus,  Luther  taught  as  follows:  'The  excellent, 
infallible,  and  sole  preparation  for  grace,  is  the  eternal  election  and  predestina- 
tion of  God.'  'Since  the  fall  of  man,  free-will  is  but  an  idle  word.'  'A  man  who 
imagines  to  arrive  at  grace  by  doing  all  that  he  is  able  to  do,  adds  sins  to  sin, 
and  is  doubly  guilty.'  'That  man  is  not  justified  who  performs  many  works; 
but  he  who  without  works  has  much  faith  in  Christ.'  (For  these  and  other 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation  see  D'Aubigne's  'History  of  the  Reformation,' 
Vol.  I,  pp.  82,  83,  119,J122.)  In  Milner's  'Church  History'  (Vol.  IV,  p.  514) 
we  read:  'The  point  wnich  the  reformer  Luther  had  most  at  heart  in  all  his 
labors,  contests  and  dangers,  was  the  justification  by  faith  alone.'  Melancthon 
voices  the  doctrine  of  Luther  in  these  words:  'Man's  justification  before  God 
proceeds  from  faith  alone.  This  faith  enters  man's  heart  by  the  grace  of  God 
alone;'  and  further,  'As  all  things  which  happen,  happen  necessarily,  according 
to  the  divine  predestination,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  liberty  in  our  wills.' — 
(D'Aubigne,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  340.)  It  is  true  that  Luther  strongly  denounced,  and 
vehemently  disclaimed  responsibility  for,  the  excesses  to  which  this  teaching 
gave  rise,  yet  he  was  not  less  vigorous  in  proclaiming  the  doctrine.  Note  his 
words:  'I,  Doctor  Martin  Luther,  unworthy  herald  of  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  confess  this  article,  that  faith  alone  without  works  justifies  before 
God;  and  I  declare  that  it  shall  stand  and  remain  forever  in  despite  of  the  em- 
peror of  the  Romans,  the  emperor  of  the  Turks,  the  emperor  of  the  Persians, — 
in  spite  of  the  pope  and  all  the  cardinals,  with  the  bishops,  priests,  monks  and 
nuns, — in  spite  of  kings,  princes  and  nobles,  and  in  spite  or  all  the  world  and 
of  the  devils  themselves;  and  that  if  they  endeavor  to  fight  against  this  truth 
they  will  draw  the  fires  of  hell  upon  their  heads.  This  is  the  true  and  holy  gos- 
pel, and  the  declaration  of  me,  Doctor  Luther,  according  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.'  "—(See  the  Author's  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  V,  Note  2.) 

3.  Diverse  Views  Concerning  Continuance  or  Decline  of  Spiritual  Gifts. 
"Protestant  writers  insist  that  the  age  of  miracles  closed  with  the  fourth  or 


NOTES.  123 

fifth  century,  and  that  after  that  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  must 
not  be  looked  for.  Catholic  writers,  on  the  other  hand,  insist  that  the  power  to 
perform  miracles  has  always  continued  in  the  Church;  yet  those  spiritual  mani- 
festations which  they  describe  after  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  savor  of 
invention  on  the  part  of  the  priests,  and  childish  credulity  on  the  part  of  the 
people;  or  else,  what  is  claimed  to  be  miraculous  falls  short  of  the  power  and 
dignity  of  those  spiritual  manifestations  which  the  primitive  Church  was  wont 
to  witness.  The  virtues  and  prodigies,  ascribed  to  the  bones  and  other  relics 
of  the  martyrs  and  saints,  are  puerile  in  comparison  with  the  healings  by  the 
anointing  with  oil  and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  speaking  in  tongues,  interpreta- 
tions, prophecies,  revelations,  casting  out  of  devils  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ; 
to  say  nothing  of  the  gifts  of  faith,  wisdom,  knowledge,  discerning  of  spirits, 
etc. — common  in  the  Church  in  the  days  of  the  apostles — (I  Cor.  12:8-10). 
Nor  is  there  anything  in  the  scriptures  or  in  reason  that  would  lead  one  to  be- 
lieve that  they  were  to  be  discontinued.  Still  this  plea  is  made  by  modern 
Christians — explaining  the  absence  of  these  spiritual  powers  among  them — that 
the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  only  intended  to  accompany  the 
proclamation  of  the  gospel  during  the  first  few  centuries,  until  the  Church  was 
able  to  make  its  way  without  them,  and  they  were  to  be  done  away.  It  is 
sufficient  to  remark  upon  this  that  it  is  assumption  pure  and  simple,  and  stands 
without  warrant  either  of  scripture  or  right  reason;  and  proves  that  men  had 
so  far  changed  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  that  it  became  a  form  of  godliness 
without  the  power  thereof." — (B.  H.  Roberts,  "Outlines  of  Ecclesiastical 
History,"  Part  II,  Sec.  5:6-8.) 

4.  Commentary  on  the  Revelators  Vision  of  the  Restoration.  It  is  instructive 
to  inquire  into  the  interpretation  given  by  biblical  students  to  the  prophecy 
voiced  by  John  the  Revelator  predicting  the  advent  of  the  angel  "having  the 
everlasting  gospel."  Dr.  Clarke  offers  the  following  reflections  on  the  passage: 
"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospeh 
Whether  this  angel  means  any  more  than  a  particular  dispensation  of  provi- 
dence and  grace,  by  which  the  gospel  shall  be  rapidly  sent  through  the  whole 
world;  or  whether  it  means  any  especial  messenger,  order  of  preachers,  people, 
or  society  of  Christians,  whose  professed  object  it  is  to  send  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom  throughout  the  earth,  we  know  not.  But  the  vision  seems  truly 
descriptive  of  a  late  institution,  entitled  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,' 
whose  object  it  is  to  print  and  circulate  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments through  all  the  habitable  world,  and  in  all  the  languages  spoken  on 
the  face  of  the  earth." — (Clarke,  "Bible  Commentary,"  Rev.  14:6.) 

The  learned  commentator  is  to  be  commended  for  his  frank  avowal  as 
to  uncertainty  regarding  the  precise  interpretation  of  this  scripture,  and  for  the 
provisional  and  tentative  manner  in  which  he  indicates  a  possible  application 
to  the  wide  distribution  of  the  Holy  Bible  through  the  efforts  of  a  most  worthy 
and  influential  society.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Dr.  Clarke  wrote  his  famous  com- 
mentary on  the  Bible  shortly  before  the  actual  restoration  of  the  gospel  through 
angelic  agency  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Of  necessity  his  search  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prediction  was  unsatisfactory,  and,  indeed,  unsuccessful,  inasmuch  as  the  ful- 
fillment had  not  then  occurred.  The  commendable  work  of  the  Bible  Society 


124  THE  GREAT  APOSTASY. 

was  a  preparation  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  momentous  prophecy,  but  not  the 
fulfillment  itself. 

5.  Restoration  of  the  Church.  "In  the  first  ten  centuries  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  ministry  of  Christ,  the  authority  of  the  priesthood  was  lost  from 
among  men,  and  no  human  power  could  restore  it.  But  the  Lord  in  His  mercy 

Erovided  for  the  re-establishment  of  His  Church  in  the  last  days,  and  for  the 
ist  time,  and  prophets  of  olden  time  foresaw  this  era  of  renewed  enlightenment, 
and  sang  in  joyous  tones  of  its  coming." — (See  Dan.  2:44, 45;  7:27;  Matt.  24: 
14;  Rev.  14:6-8.)  "This  restoration  was  effected  by  the  Lord  through  the 
prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  who,  together  with  Oliver  Cowdery,  in  1829,  received 
the  Aaronic  Priesthood  under  the  hands  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  later  the 
Melchizedek  Priesthood  under  the  hands  of  the  former-day  apostles,  Peter, 
James  and  John.  By  the  authority  thus  bestowed,  the  Church  has  been  again 
organized  with  all  its  former  completeness,  and  mankind  once  more  rejoices 
in  the  priceless  privileges  of  the  counsels  of  God.  The  Latter-day  Saints  de- 
clare their  high  claim  to  the  true  Church  organization,  similar  in  all  essentials 
to  the  organization  effected  by  Christ  among  the  Jews;  these  people  of  the  last 
days  profess  to  have  the  Priesthood  of  the  Almighty,  the  power  to  act  in  the 
name  of  God,  which  power  commands  respect  both  on  earth  and  in  heaven." — 
(The  Author,  "Articles  of  Faith,"  Lecture  11:12.) 


